The Untold Tales -- Book One: The Beginning
by remnantsrpg
Summary: A story written by a group, in which an asteroid is heading for Earth. Includes our original characters, as well as those from the books.
1. Default Chapter

*** Days to Impact: 7 ***

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Chapter 1

"What are we going to do?"

Kara looked up from the book she had been reading. It was just too hot for reading outside. The screen around the porch kept out the bugs, but it didn't help at all when it came to the muggy heat of a Florida summer. Kara generally preferred reading outdoors, but with one hundred percent humidity and the temperature up around ninety ... She shook her head as if to answer some unspoken question, got up from the lawn-chair, and went inside. Her father was sitting on the living-room couch, watching something on the television. A news report. From the kitchen came the sounds of something sizzling in a frying pan as her mother prepared the family's dinner. They had been getting home from work early for the past month, which was very unusual.

When Daryll Shayen noticed his daughter, he quickly turned the TV off. He smiled. "Hey, Kenz," he said, calling her by the family's abbreviation of her given name. 

Kara smiled in return. "Hi Daddy. How was work?" 

"Good, good." He seemed slightly distracted, as though he hadn't had the best of days and just wanted to drop the subject. He noticed the book in her hand and asked if she had been reading.

"Yeah." Kara flopped onto her favorite arm chair and set the book down on the nearby coffee table. "Just some summer reading for school." Her dad nodded again, and said nothing. He looked as though he had something on his mind and was about to say it, but not quite sure whether he should. Kara was debating asking him what it was.

She was spared the decision when her dad finally looked up and called to her mother. "Julia, would you come in here for a minute? The dinner can wait."

Mrs. Shayen came into the living room, drying her hands off on a dish towel. "I've been meaning to have a family meeting for the past couple weeks," Mr. Shayen told his daughter as his wife came over and sat beside him. Kara immediately thought she was in trouble, but did not say anything.

Mr. Shayen continued, "I was waiting for the right time to tell you, and I guess that now is as good as any, I mean, if you didn't hear it from us ... It's leaked to the media, so you'd hear it from them."

He took a deep breath. "Mackenzie, there's a huge asteroid that's going to hit Earth in about a week. It is going to destroy Earth, and there's nothing anyone can do about it. Your mother and I have known about it for some time, and we've been working on something NASA's calling the Mayflower Project. It's a shuttle that's going to be outfitted with eighty experimental stasis chambers. They're not greatly tested, and they're probably not very safe, but they are the last hope anyone has for survival."

Kara sat there, stunned. Wouldn't you be stunned if you suddenly found out the world was coming to an end? She said nothing, but looked around the room at the things so familiar to her that would be gone in a week. Tears silently filled her eyes. When she finally did speak, her voice was very soft. "What are we going to do?"

Mrs. Shayen answered, her voice trembling, "Your dad was able to get berths for you and me, Sweetie."

"But what about Daddy?" she cried in alarm. She unconsciously rushed to her father's side and held his hand tightly, as though to both keep him from some terrible danger and protect herself as well.

"I'm going to stay here," he answered her. "They need me on land. You and your mother will go without me." 


	2. Chapter 2

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Chapter 2

"Do you think I'd joke about something like this?"

Edgar Friar, called Myth by those who used given names, grumbled as he pedaled his old-style bike down the suburban street. MytholoGen was a staunch New-Englander, whose parents had practically dragged him, kicking and screaming, to the muggy heat of Florida. As far as he was concerned, a heat wave should be defined as weather conditions where you didn't have to wear a jacket outside. Sweating should be confined strictly to activities within a heated gym, or the odd sauna or Jacuzzi. One should be wet when it rained and dry when it didn't. Unfortunately, his grumbling did not affect the temperature, the humidity, or the insects. The multitude of insects especially bothered him. In New England, now, not just any creepy-crawly could survive. It took a highly motivated bug to brave the cold. 

Myth shook his head, flinging aside the sweat tricking down his nose. He'd never mastered the trick of taking even one hand off the bike handle to wipe his face. If his parents would trust him with a car ... but no. Even if they had, they probably would have objected to his taking it just the two blocks to Kara's house. "Why don't you walk?" his mother had asked. Walking took too much time. Too many minutes in the dripping heat for MytholoGen of Maine, thank you. He was thinking of changing his name. Something like "Polar" or "MainE" or "Frigid" ... anything to let the elements know he wasn't taking defeat lying down.

He dismounted the bike, leaning it, unlocked, against the Shayen's mailbox. If any bike thief was daft enough to come out in these weather conditions, pick up a bike and ride off with it, all good fortune to them. If Myth had his way, he wouldn't leave the Shayen's air-conditioned house and their sweet computer for hours.

Wiping his face with the long-sleeved shirt he wore in defiance of the thermometer, he rang the doorbell, hoping for goodness sakes that Kara would open the door quickly. 

"I'll get it," Kara announced dully. The family had cried all their tears in the hour or so following Mr. Shayen's announcement. Now all that was left was a numb, sinking, horrible grief that ate away at them, as though it wished to consume them from the inside. She got up from her perch on the arm of the couch, where she had simply been staring out the window at nothing in particular. She rubbed her red and puffy eyes. Kara didn't really care if whoever was at the door saw her. If the world really was coming to an end, what did her reputation matter? The doorbell rang again, and she hurried a little, muttering in annoyance, "I'm coming, I'm coming!"

When she reached the tiled foyer she opened the front door. There, standing on the porch was her friend, Myth. In a long sleeved shirt and pants. Kara laughed a little, despite herself. Somehow, the presence of one of her friends offered a small amount of cheer.

"Myth, you are crazy, you know that?" she asked rhetorically, then sighed. "Come on in. It would certainly be interesting to see how long you could last out there in the heat, but hey, I'm not really that cruel." She opened the door a little wider, allowing Myth and several dozen bugs to enter. Her first impulse was to ask if he knew about the Rock and the Mayflower and all, but she remembered her parents' warnings about everything needing to stay top secret, and said nothing about it.

Myth noted Kara's red-rimmed eyes without reaction or remark. He noted the sudden, soft laugh that hinted at a long time, maybe hours, of crying. But the front door was not the right place to inquire into matters like that. Maybe after an hour of programming, or so ... "I'm not crazy. I'm loyal." He grinned as the closing door squeezed out the heat and humidity. He watched as she seemed to almost ask him a question. Something important was riding The Pipe in the Shayen home today, that was for sure. She then did pose a question, but it was certainly not the one that she had held back earlier.

"So," she asked, "other than biking around in a heat wave and looking like you're either insane or a fool by wearing those clothes, why did you come by?" He paused momentarily. Something must have really upset Kara ... it wasn't like her to forget a programming appointment. He let the "insane or fool" bit slip by without comment. 

"Well, my parents have this big news item coming up, and they wanted some extra-special graphics for the intro. Our computer can't even run Immortal Kombat 3 ... I figured you probably wouldn't mind my working on your machine." He offered a broad smile. "Plus, you people have the best lemonade on the block."

Kara returned the smile. "Well in that case, let's go get some lemonade and then get to work on those graphics." She led Myth into the kitchen and poured two glasses of lemonade, then they went back into the Shayens' computer room. She had to admit- it *was* a really nice computer. Well, two really nice computers. Her parents often had to do work at home, and they had decided it would be wise to purchase these computers for that purpose. Kara gazed at the PC's and wondered how many encrypted files were on them that contained information about the Rock and the Mayflower. How many of those files were protected only with a password and could be broken into? She wondered if she could figure out how to open them up and learn more about the Mayflower Project than her parents had told her.

However, if she tried now, Myth would probably see the files too, and she had no way of knowing whether or not he knew about the Rock. She knew she couldn't tell him. *Later,* she told herself. *I'll look for those files later. In the mean time, work on the graphics stuff.*

"Here, why don't you take the driver's seat," she told Myth. "After all, this is your project. I'll just stand by and watch."

Myth slid into the chair, and downed half of his lemonade. Cracking his knuckles expertly, he pulled open the file the Shayens' had given him, hit "New" and clicked "3D9". He smiled as the familiar black window appeared, surrounded by an array of tools. His tools. "An eternity of potential for me to play around in." 

Kara peered over at the computer screen. "Are you looking for anything in particular? Maybe I could help."

Myth tapped his chin thoughtfully. "Well, sort of. The 'rentals are doing the newscast on a new seafaring exhibit up in Massachusetts. Something about people actually going on the boat. I'm going to get a picture of the boat for a texture, but it'd be good if I could get the 3D model from a file I've already done." Myth constantly referred to his parents as the "'rentals". "Parents" becomes "parental units" becomes "parentals" becomes "'rentals". Both the "'rentals" were in the newscasting business, and often handled the evening news together. Kara sat down at the other computer and began hurriedly typing something into it. 

"Do you know what the name of the ship is? It'd make finding it a lot easier."

Myth nodded thoughtfully. "The best ship I ever made was for a science/computer-science project. What was it ... oh, yes. It should be under filename 'Mayflower'."

At the name 'Mayflower', Kara's face suddenly turned white and she stopped typing. She leaned back in her chair, fighting hard to hold back tears. "Can't I *ever* escape that name?" she whispered to herself. "It's like everywhere I look, everywhere I turn there's some reminder of it ..." She trailed off, cleared her throat, and began typing hard on the keys, trying to find the file and hoping beyond hope that Myth hadn't heard her or wasn't paying attention. 

But Myth certainly was paying attention. Myth always watched his friends, noted what was hidden in their faces, caught the times they almost spoke, but waited or said nothing. He spun in the chair to face her. There was a time for Tylenol, and a time for surgery. Fasten the masks and slip on the gloves, boys. Nurse, scalpel. "What's wrong? What about Mayflower?"

"I ... I'm not supposed to tell," she whispered. "They warned me not to tell anyone." At this point, Kara was talking more to herself than Myth, trying to convince herself that she had to do as she had been told. But if the end of the world was coming ... What did it matter? They? What was this, a government conspiracy?

Myth was about to press further, but after a moment of silent debate, he let it go with a shrug. "Okay, sure, fine. Not like I'm going to die if I don't know."

Kara set her jaw in defiance. *Sorry everyone,* she said silently. *I thought I could, but apparently I can't keep a secret this important a secret for long ...* She began typing furiously, trying all the numerous tricks she knew to break into her parents' top-secret files about the Mayflower Project. They were all heavily encrypted, many using other unimportant files as dead drops where they were piggybacked on so that no one would suspect the real files' presence. After several minutes, she smiled and muttered, "Mission accomplished." 

Myth regarded this in a mixture of curiosity, expectancy, and satisfaction. Whatever was bothering her, he'd get to the root of it now. He kept silent, though. He'd talked and pried a lot since he came. Odds were, if he just held his piece, it would all come out.

Kara looked around the room, as though trying to locate the surveillance cameras the FBI had no doubt placed there. She debated what to say next--Myth had to be told, there was no doubt of that, but she had to word everything very carefully so that the FBI wouldn't become suspicious. She knew they would of course, but caution might buy a little bit of time. 

"Myth, I found the Mayflower file. Come see." Arching a brow at all this mystery, Myth scooted over in his chair, and glanced at the screen. Within seconds, he was entirely absorbed in the text contained there. 

"This is impossible. This is insane. This has got to be a joke." Finding it impossible to tear his eyes from the horrifying text, he contented himself with turning his head towards Kara, still reading out of the corner of his eye. "This is a joke, right?" 

She shook her head. "Do you think I'd joke about something like this? It's all real. Every word. Every single word." Myth felt his mouth go dry. He tried to speak, found he could not, cleared his throat, and tried again, with only partial success. "How long?" 

"Only seven days. But my mom and dad might be able to get your family onto the Mayflow-" At that point she was cut off.

The front door slammed open with a loud bang. "FBI," a man's voice said. Heavy footsteps thudded down the hall and a tall man in a dark business suit entered the room. 

"It's too late," Kara told them. "Myth already knows everything." 

"Young lady," the agent said sternly, "That was a very bad move." 

Myth thought fast. He could feign ignorance, but if the spooks were already here, that meant they had heard something. And, of course, Kara would tell them, so now they were absolutely sure. He could run for it, but these guys were in shape. Plus they had guns, and the guns were a problem. But what would they do if he cooperated? What could they do, within the bounds of the law? Then he stopped, and thought again. The world was ending in a week. What did the law matter anymore? Myth thought fast. Odds had it the spooks hadn't had time to run a background check on him. He spoke quickly. 

"That's right, officers, I do know everything! But that's only because my parents work in NASA with hers." He jerked his head towards Kara. Well ... it was sort of true. Kara's folks often gave the 'rentals a story. And if this wasn't the biggest story ever to hit Earth ... Myth winced inwardly at the unintended and unfunny pun. "I've known for awhile now, my parents are already negotiating our berths ... we're expecting word to come through any minute." Myth made double-sure to slow down his speech, as he always talked too fast when excited and not telling the full truth. "Check on it if you want, it'll be a waste of our short remaining time." 

The agent frowned. There was every possibility that this kid wasn't telling him the truth. But, then again ... He shrugged. "All right, kid. But you two- you especially-" he pointed at Kara "-need to not tell *anyone* about this. If word gets out there will be more trouble than either of you can even imagine."

Kara nodded, glad the DSA guy had accepted Myth's fib. "Yes sir. We won't tell anyone." The agent looked at each of them in turn, as though trying to figure out what they were thinking and might not be telling him. He had been trained, but mind-reading was not one of the skills he had learned.

"Well, you have a good day then," he said, and with that turned and left the house. Myth's eyes almost lit up at the agent's words ... "If word gets out there will be more trouble than either of you can even imagine." ... almost, but not quite. 

Myth could keep himself under control. He waited, tensely, until the DSA spook left. Then he turned to Kara with a glimmer of hope and a hard look. "I should get home." With an eloquent look, he walked to the front door. "See you at the Mayflower." He flashed a quick thumbs-up, and stepped out into the boiling humidity with a grimace. 


	3. Chapter 3

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Chapter 3

"It will destroy my world."

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This can't be happening.

Calee sat on her Rock. Not the Rock. No, not the one that was hurling towards them at thousands of miles an hour. This was her Thinking Rock. Large enough for a picnic blanket, it was relatively flat and protruded into a quiet stream. Green surrounded her everywhere. It was her special place, where she could study, read, or just think. Never, never before had she cried at her Rock.

It wasn't even crying, not in the usual sense. People shot with the kind of grief she was experiencing cried with sobs that wracked their body. People shook when they cried. Calee knew this because she remembered people crying. She remembered her father staring at her and then crying. She remembered her mother's death. No, Calee cried and didn't move. Tears slipped down her cheeks and she didn't move to wipe them off. She simply stared at all of the life surrounding her and knew that it would be gone in a week.

So many other people will die. Billions of lives, and they're all be gone ... Trillions of animals, dolphins and hamsters and bumble bees and kangaroos, they'll all be ... What right did she have to survive? Humanity, in its last, knee-jerk reaction to survive, had thrown together the Mayflower Project. Calee understood most of the technology behind the Project, and she knew how farfetched the odds were that the Mayflower would land on a livable planet.

And only 80 denizens of Earth would survive. Why should she be one of them? She wasn't anyone important or special. Her father had just happened to find the right information, and then she had a berth. But her father didn't. She was going to lose another parent. And Earth, her own planet!

"Not if I can help it," she whispered to herself. She looked down at the two packets of seeds she held in her hand. Anything larger wouldn't be allowed on the ship, she knew. But a packet of apple seeds and one of forget-me-nots, snuggled in her back pockets--no one would find them. But seeds was not the only thing she could take with her.

Around her neck, she wore a set of small data chips on a black string. Taking one of the chips out, she placed it into the recording device on her link. After staring at it a long moment, she took a deep breath and pressed RECORD. "This is a story of Earth," she started. "While I will never be able to get down the entire majesty of Earth, I will tell as much as I can. This is so, if everyone dies, whoever finds us will know of our planet. I'll describe everything I remember, everything I've learned, everything I've heard of. I'll tell you of humanity's history. But know this--I will barely scrape the surface of this planet. The Rock is coming, and it will destroy ..." she trailed off, her voice choking off. "It will destroy my world." Then, after a pause, she began.


	4. Chapter 4

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Chapter 4

"Are you up for it?"

Savannah looked around with worry, then hurried into the office. Mr. Marshall had wanted to see her. She gave him a half smile. She did not like Mr. Marshall, he always seemed to be mentally undressing her, but since her husband worked for him, she couldn't say anything. 

He smiled back at her, in his evil oily way. "Savannah, please, sit down dear." He leaned back with seemingly great anticipation. "I am sure you know that the end of the world has come." She nodded mutely, knowing there was no sense in denying her knowledge of it. He knew she would know; she was a top scientist, her husband a diplomat. They were both important people, they had been some of the first to know.

"There is a project called The Mayflower. It is the human race's only chance. I have been put in charge of picking who goes and who doesn't. Most of the people going are the ones NASA owes favors too, or are extremely prominent. But for the extra twenty, well, the choice has been laid upon me by the president herself. She felt it would be fitting."

Savannah narrowed her eyes at him. "What are you getting at, Marshall?"

He smiled broadly. "Why, my dear Savannah, try not to be so cross. I want you to come."

"What do you mean?" she asked hoarsely, unable to believe there was a chance she could escape this horrible ending.

"I mean, that you are one of the people I have picked."

She shook her head. "No, there is no way I would leave my children or my husband. Take one of them, take Tyler, my youngest boy."

He looked at her an evil smile. "I thought you might feel that way. I came prepared to make an offer I'm sure you can't refuse. I would be willing to let your family aboard, all of you, including your husband."

She looked at him in disbelief, feeling a surge of hope. "Really? You would-" 

He cut her off. "If, you will do something for me." Savannah looked at him doubtfully. "What is that?" Looking at her, Marshall's eyes took on a glazed look as they roamed around her body. A fire seemed to burn within them and his gaze was so wicked she felt scorched by them. She involuntarily pulled her jacket closer together.

He smiled at the gesture, his eyes still on her, blazing desire. "I want you. In the most primitive way. No one has to know. I won't tell your husband, not a soul, it will be our little secret."

Savannah felt dizzy and immediately sat down, only to stand right back up and lean over and give him a firm slap. "Pig, how dare you even suggest-"

"Savannah, remember, this is not just your life were talking about. I am giving you the chance to save your whole family. Question is, are you up for it?"

Sky looked up as his mom walked into the kitchen. He had just arrived from practice and was feeling charged. She gave him a solemn look. He knew she was really bummed about the whole world ending thing, and gave her an encouraging smile. "Hey Mom, how's it going?"

She looked at him and smiled. "Pack your bags, we're leaving. Going on a ship called The Mayflower. We're gonna make it out alive, son."

He looked at her in amazement. "Mom, what do you mean?"

Savannah gave Sky a stern look. "Just do as I say, and no electronics, take only what you can fit in your pockets. I'll take care of rest." Sky wanted to argue, but knew it would do no good. He went and packed while his mother and father waited downstairs.

His little brother Tyler looked ready to cry. "I don't wanna go!" His mother hushed him and the Paul family made their way out.

They left on a private plane and checked into a hotel. Their mother said they had three more days before they would have to go to the barracks. She refused to tell anybody how she had got them on the ship, or even knew where to go. Three more days ... and Sky hadn't even gotten to say good-bye to anyone.


	5. Chapter 5

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Chapter 5

"So this is how it ends."

Angel was in her room, cross-stitching a picture of a pair of kittens pawing at a pink flower. She heard her father talking with her mother in the next room. She always liked to eavesdrop. She was a master at it. She slowly got off of her purple inflatable chair, placed her work by the lilac lava lamp on her desk, and crept over to the door. She sat against the wall, a sneaky smirk on her face. But the smirk dropped into a scared frown when she heard what they were saying.

"Dezirae, I don't know how to tell you this, but something's coming. Something big."

"What is it? Jack, what's going on?"

"An asteroid is on a collision course for Earth. Nobody is expected to survive. Except ..."

"Except for what? Who?"

"The Americans, they're sending up some spaceship with eighty people. Now, I secured a berth for Jillian, so she will be alright; but I have yet to hear whether we get a berth or not. They told me that it's not likely that we'll be able to go."

"Oh, God help us. At least Angel will be safe." Angel peeked in to see her mother hug her father and bury her face into his shoulder. "So this is how it ends."

Tears streamed down Angel's face. She tried to stop them, but they kept coming. She raced out to where her father and mother were. "The Americans, Papa, they were lying about the asteroid! They have to have been!" She wrapped her arms around her parents. "But they weren't, were they? Oh, God, I don't want you to die! I won't leave you two!"

Jack broke the embrace and placed a hand on his daughter's shoulder. "You have to be brave, dear. You have to go on there for us, okay, honey?"

"No! I am not going to leave you!"

"Angel, you have to understand that you are England's only hope. You are the only pure English blood going on that ship. You have to represent us, England."

Angel wiped the tears from her face. "But, I don't want you to die."

"Be strong, Angel. We are counting on you." Dezirae hugged her daughter. _God, keep her safe,_ she thought. 

Angel ran into her room, crying, to pack whatever she was allowed.

Rebecca Emerson was different from most of her classmates at MIT. She was shy, kept to herself, and didn't have a single friend. She was a year younger than the other freshmen, but was the most brilliant of all of them, and the best hacker.

It was her fear of losing someone else, like she had lost her parents and, last year, the great-aunt who raised her, that kept her from getting close to anyone. She gazed at the picture of the happy young family: Her parents, and two-month-old Rebecca. The only picture she had of them. Everything had been destroyed in the fire, but this picture was one that had been sent to her great-aunt. She thought of how her father had saved her, handed her to a neighbor, and headed back in for her mother--then never came back out.

She went back to her task at hand--testing herself. She often hacked simply to test how fast, how well she could do it. Today, she was hacking into NASA. She set to work, and in her best time yet, was in. She was going to just exit, having done what she set out to do, when something caught her eye. "The Mayflower Project." Hmmm. She decided to take a look.

"Hmm ... something with a space shuttle and hibernation technology." She scanned. "Oh my God ..." 

The world was ending. And only eighty people would survive. Eighty people on the Mayflower.


	6. Chapter 6

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Chapter 6

"Let's take a look at what NASA doesn't want us to see."

"Aliens. The aliens are in cahoots with the President. The only question is what are the aliens planning to do," Madison continued, explaining what Secretcer told her earlier that day. Mark paid close attention, taking notes on her every word.

Mark was about the same age as Madison. Even though there was nothing between them, they posed as a dating couple so as to not draw attention to themselves. Both Mark and Madison had devoted their lives to discovering and releasing government secrets and conspiracies. Madison discovered the conspiracies, and Mark released them to the public by tapping into thousands, sometimes even a million personal links. 

Madison would do it herself, but she finally came to accept the fact that she wasn't smart enough to do anything without help. Except, of course, for obtaining information she wasn't supposed to know. Usually she revealed the secrets, but sometimes used the information as blackmail. Her latest secret was going to be revealed to the public; that is once she discovered what the aliens and President were up to.

"Mark, we have to find out what the aliens are planning to do. If not, no one will believe our story. I'm thinking NSA and NASA will have the info we need. We'll hit NASA first, since their security isn't half as tight as NSA. If NASA doesn't have what we want, then we'll try to get into NSA's files."

Madison went to her fake-id connection: Personal8y. Through him, she obtained a NASA personnel badge for Mark. The two discovered that NASA's alarm system changed over at 12:36 PM. If Madison cut the wire at the exact moment, Mark could break into NASA's biggest secrets without activating the security measures. Madison would be waiting outside on her motorcycle should anything go wrong.

Madison took her position as Mark walked inside. At 12:35:55 she began to cut the wire. Ten minutes later, Mark informed her using an old fashion walkie-talkie that he was downloading. It had worked!

BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!

"Mark, get out of there now!" Madison hissed. "You tripped an alarm. Meet me at the contingency point, I'll be ready."

Moments later Mark came crashing through a bottom window. Bullets shattered the glass above him. He sprinted to the cycle and jumped on. Madison was off, headed to their escape route. She went full speed over the collapsible ramp and over the security fence. No one was able to follow them over the fence. They had lost all of their pursuers by the time they reached safe haven.

"What went wrong?" Madison asked. "I cut the alarm at exactly 12:36. Everything was okay, what happened?

"I don't know," Mark admitted. "I was almost done downloading the database when a file tripped a security alarm on a different system. This file had more security than the President at a gun show. I managed to elude all of it, or so I thought. As the download completed, a new security alarmed appeared and sounded. The file that caused all this fiasco is called Mayflower."

"Okay Mark, let's take a look at what NASA doesn't want us to see."

Madison's face went pale as she read the file. It couldn't be true, not this one. The world was coming to an end in seven days. Thank God her parents weren't going to be a part of it. They had died just two years ago of natural causes. She supposed that everyone would be dying of a natural cause now. What's more natural than a rock hurled towards Earth? Madison didn't know whether to announce the secret or not. The people have a right to know that they are going to die. But by revealing the secret, panic would surely arise and people would die in fear. No, this was a secret that she could use as blackmail.

She and Mark were going to get a berth on Mayflower.


	7. Chapter 7

*** Days to Impact: 6 ***

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Chapter 7

"It seems unfair, but ... I'll be one of the Eighty."

Calee finished her description of Earth, of everything. Clicking off the record button, she threaded the last data chip onto her necklace, and retied it around her neck. She felt drained, like she had stayed awake for a week and then run a marathon.

Glancing up, she realized it was starting to rain. She walked back through the small forest and climbed the steps of her house in Texas just as it started to pour. As she walked through the door, she heard her father's voice drift to her from the study. 

"Yes ... yes, very good. No, I understand. Yes. Thank you. Bye." 

"Who was that, Daddy?" she asked, standing in the doorway. 

Benjamin Campbell turned to face his daughter. "The FBI, sweetheart." 

"About the project?" 

He nodded. "They're going to come for you in four days. You'll be taken by plane to Florida, and from there ..." He trailed off, knowing he didn't have to say what happened after that. They both knew. 

"You're not coming to Florida?" Calee asked, trying to keep her voice calm. She had to be strong, for him. 

"No, sweetheart," he said. "I'm going to ... I'll be with your mother." 

Calee nodded, trying to understand, but words came unbidden to her mouth. "Why, Daddy? Why can't you come, too?" 

"Oh, Anika." He was the only one who ever called her Anika. "I was lucky enough to get a berth for you. They don't have room for me." 

"No, Dad, no, I don't want you to die!" she said, and then suddenly, she was in his arms, and they both were crying. 

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry I'll have to leave you," her father said. "I know it'll be hard, but ... you're a survivor, Anika. You have to be brave, pumpkin." 

"I love you Daddy," she whispered. 

"I know, hun. I love you, too." 

A thunderclap sounded overheard. 

"Daddy?"

"Yes?"

"Can I sleep in your bed tonight?" 

Benjamin bit his lip, and nodded. "Of course, Anika."

After a while, Calee's dad said he had work to do. Most of the CIA didn't know about the Rock, and he had to act like everything was normal.

Normal. Right.

Calee climbed the stairs to her room, and turned on the radio. Country music. Perfect. She logged onto the Internet, then suddenly wondered where she was going to go. What was the point? A sudden longing to talk to someone, *anyone,* came over her. She began scrolling through the chat rooms until one caught her eye: The Rock.

Double clicking, she entered the chat room. She used her chosen name, CosmAstra, as her screen name.

Sky hurriedly logged on. He had awhile and nothing to do. He wanted to learn more about the thing that was going to destroy the world. He signed on as ImmersedINClouds, and chose a chat room called The Rock, hoping he was doing this right. He hadn't had much practice.

****

ImmersedINClouds: Hey, anybody here know anything about, The Rock? 

****

TheRockRulez: The Rock is the best wrestler ever!

****

CosmAstra: Immersed, are you talking about the wrestler ... or something else?

****

ImmersedINClouds: Naw, not the wrestler

****

ImmersedINClouds: I was just looking for some info on this Rock thing

****

ImmersedINClouds: think you can help me?

Calee paused. Should she talk to him, see if he really knew?

****

CosmAstra: Actually ... yes.

****

TheRockRulez: Hey, take your chitchat somewhere else!

An IM popped up on her screen. It was from ImmersedINClouds.

****

ImmersedINClouds: Hey, sorry about that, some people are just evil 

****

ImmersedINClouds: so, what do you know about The Rock?

Calee bit her lip. Should she tell him?

****

CosmAstra: What do *you* know?

Sky looked at the screen, a bit hesitant. She could be a psycho, or the media ... he shook his head, the world was about to end, why should he care?

****

ImmersedINClouds: not as much as I'd like too. It's coming. Everybody who isn't on some special ship is gonna die, and probably the people who make it on the ship will too. 

He decided to withhold the fact he would be on the ship.

****

CosmAstra: Oh my God, someone else who knows ... how did you know? Never mind, that doesn't matter. The ship, it's called the Mayflower. Only eighty people will survive.

Should she tell him she would be on the ship? Calee sighed. Why bother? He probably wasn't on the ship. He might hate her for living while he died, and she really needed someone to talk to.

Sky looked at the IM in surprise, happy there was someone else who knew.

****

ImmersedINClouds: it seems so weird to think about the world coming to an end, you know?? i can't get it through my head I wont be going to football practice tomorrow 

****

CosmAstra: I know what you mean. It's so horrible to look around and realize that in seven days every single thing you see is going to be gone. I feel so guilty for surviving.

Calee just typed and send the message before she realized what she had said. Oh no! What would this person think?

Sky sat there for a minute, wondering what she meant by that, would she be on The Mayflower, too? He typed quickly, hoping this did mean she would be on the Mayflower. The chances that she would be and that they had just met, were ... well, he had never been good in math, but they were a lot!

****

ImmersedINClouds: What do you mean?? how are you going to survive?

****

CosmAstra: I guess I should just tell you. I'm going to be on the Mayflower. It seems unfair, but ... I'll be one of the Eighty.

Sky raised his fist in the air. "Yes!" His brother looked over at him like he was weird, but he had gone back to typing.

****

ImmersedINClouds: that is so awesome! I am too!

Calee just stared at the screen, the country music loud enough to cover the sound of the rain.

****

CosmAstra: You're kidding. Do you realize how impossible the odds are that we met? On the Internet, no less!

****

CosmAstra: This ... this is amazing.

****

ImmersedINClouds: Well, actually, I don't know the odds, but, ya know, I'm guessing they're big or something ... my whole family is going, but I think I'll miss my friends a lot...

****

CosmAstra: That's ... that's really great. Your family going with you and all. You're very lucky.

Sky looked at her words, confused for a second. He typed his reply, thinking incredulously that that could never happen.

****

ImmersedINClouds: you mean your going by yourself?

Calee tried to stop the lump in her throat from forming as she thought of her father. He would be dead in a few days. Faith Hill crooned to her: 'You were right there for me. In my dreams I'll always see you soar above the sky. In my heart will always be a place for you, for all my life ...' Wiping at her eyes, Calee tried to tune out the music.

****

CosmAstra: Yeah, yeah I am. My dad couldn't get a berth for himself, only me. He's going to die.

Sky felt a lump in his throat, thinking about what it would be like if he didn't have any family going with him.

****

ImmersedINClouds: What about your mom??

****

CosmAstra: She died when I was little. I hardly remember her.

Trying to shift the subject, she typed in another message.

****

CosmAstra: Who's in your family?

Sky recognized the diversionary tactic and just took it in stride. 

****

ImmersedINClouds: to many people!

****

CosmAstra: A big family, eh?

****

ImmersedINClouds: I think so, I mean, you know, most families is this century are pretty small, after all the population overgrowth and stuff. I have a brother and a sister, and the biggest family in my neighborhood

****

CosmAstra: You're kidding! Two siblings? What's it like?

****

ImmersedINClouds: I don't know, their both younger than me, usually I just ignore them ... I guess that won't be all that easy once were like almost the only people alive ... 

****

CosmAstra: Most likely. Wow, I've always wondered what it would be like to have a brother or sister. So ... how did you guys get on the Mayflower, anyway? 

****

ImmersedINClouds: I'm not really sure, my mom just said we had passed the qualifications, and we were on. i guess their picking just anybody ...

"Calee!" Her father's voice drifted in through her music. "Time for dinner. Come on down."

"Okay Dad!" she called back, and frantically typed a reply.

****

CosmAstra: Look, I gotta go ... sheesh, I don't even know your name. I guess I'll see you in three days.

****

ImmersedINClouds: ~nods~ Yeah, I guess I'll see you too. Oh, and I'm Sky.

Calee hesitated. She barely knew him. Should she tell him her personal chosen name, or the one everyone else called her?

****

CosmAstra: I'm Calee. Good bye!


	8. Chapter 8

****

Chapter 8

"I will do anything to see that he makes it out alive."

"We are going to get a berth on the Mayflower." Madison knew that this was easier said than done. This was the ultimate conspiracy. People got killed over this stuff. But if Madison could find the right person, maybe, just maybe she and Mark could get out of this alive. "We have to get dirt on the guy in charge. Enough dirt to bury him; enough for NASA to take back his berth."

Madison consulted with all her connections. Then her connection's connections. Finally, she found the right person. A connection of a connection's connection. The guy's chosen name was InTell_101. He was surprised that Madison had discovered NASA's secret. She was obviously a paranoid nut. He had to admit though, sometimes the paranoid are right. Her paranoia may just save her life, which is more than he could say for himself.

Ever since InTell_101 and Marshall competed for the same job, they had been at odds. There was no way Marshall was going to give him a berth. InTell_101 wanted no more than to take that slime ball down with him. He told Madison everything he knew.

"Here are all Marshall's files that I could get a hold of. Of the 80 berths, 60 are already being held. Marshall was appointed by the President herself to choose the remaining 20. Everyone has picked thus far is legit, except for one family. The mother and her family were given berths. I know the woman, nice lady, but definitely not qualified for a berth. Marshall changed her file to make her appear qualified. I can only speculate why, if you know what I mean, wink, wink."

"Wow," Mark said as Madison told him about InTell_101's information. "This lady slept with him to save herself and her family? I don't know if that is low or noble."

"I don't know either, but what I do know is that we can't get near this guy. No walk-ins, no appointments, nothing. Telling his secretary we have dirt on him won't get us anywhere, either. For all we know she'll discover the affair and use the information for herself. The only people we can trust with this secret are the people who already know it. Marshall's out, so that leaves his little girlfriend. I have got to get to her house NOW. 

"You stay here and prepare for a transmission. If you don't here from me in three hours, release the info on the Mayflower and the affair. Use the highest power we got, I want to tap into a million personal links. Good luck."

Forty minutes later, Madison knocked on a hotel door. This was the nicest hotel that she had ever seen. Each room had two stories! She glanced around, looking for any signs someone was watching her. The government was sly, was always watching. Madison felt vulnerable outside her log cabin lined with copper and aluminum. Was the government watching her right now? Were they on to her? Why wasn't anyone answering the door?

Sky had just logged off, after talking to a few other people, when the doorbell rang. He hurried down the stairs, knowing his mom was with some kind of experiment and his dad was at a meeting. He opened the door to find a middle-aged woman on the other side. He wondered who she was and how she knew them. He hadn't even been allowed to tell his friends he was leaving. It surprised him to see her there, and he wondered for a second if she had rented this room before them or something.

"You must be Sky. Is your mother home? I need to talk to her about a man she works with. His name is Marshall," she said as she just let herself in their house. He glared at her for a second, wondering who she was and why she thought she could just come barging in like this.

"Actually, Mr. Marshall is my dad's boss, not my mom's, and I really think-"

"Sky, please go upstairs, let me talk to the woman." Sky looked at his mom, who must have come in at one time or another, in surprise. She was looking nervous, but determined. "Go Sky!" Sky gave the lady one last suspicious look and hurried upstairs. 

Savannah looked at the woman coolly, hiding her fear and nervousness easily. "What can I do for you?"

"You can get me a berth. Two, actually," Madison said.

Savannah gave a short laugh. "And why would I do that for you? And how would I?"

"Why? Because you have a very nice family. I would hate to see them die when the Rock hits. And you know perfectly well how. Bottom line: In two hours, if my friend doesn't hear from me, I am releasing everything I know to the public. Everything." Madison hated being so blunt. She didn't want to be a bad guy, one of *them*, but she had to get two berths, and time was short.

Savannah's eyes narrowed; could she bluff her way out of this? She felt her mind starting to panic. Exactly what did this woman know? "What is it exactly that you think you know that will scare me?"

"I know how you got five berths. An affair with the guy in charge? I don't know if that is low or noble. I can't get to him, but obviously you can. If you don't get me two berths, I will take this story to the public and you can kiss your berths good bye."

Savannah felt the air sucked out of her. Oh God, this was bad, this was really bad... what would her family think? She couldn't let this happen. They had to live. She glared at Madison coolly. "How do you know all this? And why do you even care?!" 

Madison felt horrible for being so cruel. Threatening a person's family, that's low. That is lower than low. But she wasn't going down without a fight. She knew that Savannah would save her family. She knew Savannah would get the berths. Madison had to continue, she'll apologize for it later. "How I know is none of your concern. And frankly, I don't care about you and your family. All I care about is saving my life and my friend's. Surely you can understand that. After all what is worse: Sleeping your way on board or blackmailing your way?"

Savannah stepped back as if she had been slapped. This woman was right. She was no better than her. She felt like crying. It was the end of the world, but did that really excuse her lack of morals?

Tyler came running downstairs and stopped short when he saw Madison. "Mommy, can I have a drink?"

Savannah nodded. "Go ahead, honey." She watched him get his drink, then hurry upstairs, and her resolve strengthened. She met Madison with a fierce glare. "I'll see what I can do."

"Cute little boy you have," Madison said, watching as well.

"Yes," Savannah said, her eyes glittering dangerously. "I will do anything to see that he makes it out alive."

"Great, call Marshall now. I'll wait right here," she said. Savannah nodded mutely, and went and got the phone, then came back to Madison.

"Look, I am doing what I am doing for my family. I don't want them to know. Please, can we go somewhere else to make the phone call? If one of my children heard ..."

Madison could understand this. This woman was noble. She was doing everything she could to save her family. She felt a tinge of pity for this woman. How used she must feel! First she must put her morals aside to get her family aboard the Mayflower, and then she has to comply with a complete stranger's demand to keep them there. Yes, Madison would be sure to apologize later, though she doubted the woman would forgive her. 

Madison was more than willing to comply to Savannah's only request. "Deal. But I must remain indoors. They could be watching. Is there any place where I can hear you, but your children couldn't?"

Savannah sighed in relief. "We'll got to my room. My husband is at work and the children won't interrupt us in there."

"Excellent. Be sure to tell Marshall that if something should happen to me, the message will be automatically sent out. A million people will know, including your children. How do you think NASA will take it?"

Savannah turned around quickly. "I want you to understand one thing. I am not doing this to preserve our berths; its the end of the world, NASA won't give a hoot. I am doing this to preserve my children's and husband's faith in me, and to save all of our lives. Now let's go," she said, leading Madison into her room, then sitting down and dialing up Marshall.

Madison looked at Savannah with admiration. Wow, this lady had guts. She was such a strong woman. Madison hoped that one day her children would know her sacrifices.

Savannah waited impatiently for Marshall to pick up. When he did, she filled him in quickly. She tried not flinch at his use of obscenities. He hollered at her over the phone awhile, then grudgingly agreed. "She's got it, long as I got your word none of this will leak out."

Savannah glanced at Madison, who for all the world didn't look like some evil woman trying to blackmail her, just somebody desperately holding onto life. "It won't leak out," she said briskly then hung up. "Okay, you're in."

Madison grinned. "Excellent. I will tell my friend to hold the presses." She paused. "I want you to know that I am terribly sorry for having to do this."

Savannah nodded and said softly, "So am I."

Madison looked down feeling guilty, then shook her head. "Oh, I suppose I should tell you my name. I wanted to wait to make sure I got in first. You can tell Marshall to preserve two berths for Madison Carter and Mark Hammerson. We don't have an address, so I will meet him at the FBI building in DC."

Savannah just nodded dully. "Okay, sure."

"Finally, I don't want to be arrested there. So tell your friend that if anything should go wrong, the message will be sent out. He will go down with me," Madison said in warning.

Savannah gave a short bitter laugh. "Marshall is too worried about his reputation to arrest you. And too dumb to think of it."

Madison just nodded. "You really are a good person. A strong person. I am only sorry I had to put you into this position. I will see you in a few days."

Savannah attempted a half smile. "If you weren't blackmailing me and I weren't feeling like a horrible person, we might have been friends. Yes, in a few days," she said, leading Madison to the door then shutting it firmly behind her. She sighed, leaning against it. This was *not* good ...

Madison walked away elated. She did it! She did the impossible! Billions of people with only eighty berths and she secured two. Maybe now, it would finally end. All the conspiracies will blow up with the world. Then again, there were eighty people on the Mayflower; and where there are people, there are conspiracies ...


	9. Chapter 9

****

Chapter 9

"We are going on the Mayflower."

Madison was so excited about securing two berths that she was almost tempted to speed home. That would be bad though, because then a cop would pull her over and give her one of those traced tickets. Then they would know where she was, and that was a chance she just couldn't afford. 

As she turned onto yet another dirt road, she checked her mirrors ever so casually to make sure no one was tailing her. At last she was into the familiar woods, making a sudden turn into what appeared to be a game trail. She avoided the multiple booby traps and snares placed to trap the government agents stupid enough to infringe on her constitutional rights. Madison made one last check and put on her aluminum foil to scramble any hidden bugs the government had secretly placed on her. 

Savannah was crazy to allow her family to reside in a hotel room with absolutely no aluminum foil. She had taken a big chance going there today, but it was worth it. Finally satisfied that she disrupted all the emitting government signals, she made her way into her copper-aluminum lined cabin. "Mark! We did it! We are going on the Mayflower. We've got to get packing." 

Madison made her way to the fall-out shelter in the cellar. There, she rapidly began packing all the essentials. First on her list was aluminum foil. As much as she could take. 

She shuddered at the memory of when she had had to chew on aluminum foil for three years. Her parents forced her to get a cavity filled when she was fifteen. How naïve they were, of course the government is going to put micro transmitters into fillings. Why do you think they are metal? To increase the frequency, duh. The only way to block the homing frequencies was with her good friend, aluminum foil. The day Madison turned eighteen, she pulled the molar and freed herself! Her parents had insisted on having a professional do it, but then they would just put the transmitter in her gum and she would never be free of Big Brother. 

Her parents always said she was paranoid; that she was taking this whole government thing too far. How convenient that BOTH her parents died of meningitis seven years after sight-seeing in the federal buildings in DC. What the people don't know is that meningitis is really when the transmitters implanted into people's brains suffer a melt down. Natural causes indeed.

Madison carefully folded and packed her home-made aluminum suit composed of seven emergency blankets and metal thread. She was prepared for warm or cold climates. Within the suit was a pump that connected to the feet. Whenever she walked, cool air spread throughout the suit. This way, she wouldn't bake like a potato. For cold climates, she simply disconnected the hose. And the best part was that it could be worn under civilian clothing without attracting attention. 

Her last items to go into the pack were the med-kit and some food. MRE's and Twinkies, to be exact. A part of Madison warned her that this could all be an elaborate government conspiracy to trap her and Mark. The government might try to poison them. MRE's and Twinkies were definitely in. 

As she zipped up her night bag, she smacked herself on the forehead. How could she forget the most important items of all? Her conspiracy notebook where she kept track of all of her leads. She heard that the president's son would be aboard. Maybe he could provide some answers. Or maybe he was one of Them and was personally working with the aliens. And finally, she grabbed her favorite book: Catcher in the Rye. She packed it with care and zipped up her bag for the last time. 

Madison and Mark began their eleven-hour drive to the FBI building in Washington D.C. Along the way, they stopped by one of Madison's connection's gun shop. "Colonel Mustard, I need the best Swiss army knife you've got." 

"You need a knife, eh? Well a knife isn't going to help much when the Yanks come to get ya. What you need is a rifle!" Colonel Mustard seemed to think that he was still in the Civil War. Well, that wasn't exactly right, since he wasn't even in it to begin with. Madison didn't know where he got these delusions from. All she knew was that he provided the best weapons under the Mason Dixon line and that he had a great knack for overhearing conversations. He was the one who told her about the dolphins being turned into covert assassins.

"Thanks Colonel, but I won't be doing any fighting. I am going to need the knife for a trip I am taking. A lady can never be too careful when it comes to her safety." 

"Alrighty miss, but you be careful on your trip. The Yanks are past the Mason Dixon line and are attacking southern homes. Something about an Emancipation Proclamation." 

Madison bought the knife and left the store with Mark. She didn't know whether to feel happy or bad for the Colonel. He was going to die, but perhaps death would be the only escape from his delusional world.

They continued their way up to Virginia, making one last stop at the first Denny's in Virginia. Madison loved the clam chowder and their club. She was going to miss Denny's club and strawberry shortcake more than anything else in the world. Maybe another planet would bear strawberries. After all, the aliens had been taking samples of Earth's life-forms for years. She paid with cash as usual. Madison never used a credit card. The government learned something new about you every time your credit card was scanned. No-siry-Bob the government wasn't going to infringe on her constitutional rights.

Madison and Mark continued their trek to Washington on the motorcycle. They decided to unpack their aluminum suits before they went into DC and wear them under regular clothing. One can never be too careful. The signals that the government emitted originate in Washington and were therefore the strongest there. Madison was fairly sure that the government did not emit any signals to her brain. But then again, that's what they want you to think. The aluminum suit would assure that no signals reach her brain today. 

Madison had never been in Washington DC before. She stayed home when her parents went. Normally, she would never consider sight-seeing there, but seeing as to how the world was coming to an end, she made an exception. Madison and Mark went to all of the Smithsonian Museums. They even went out of her way to visit the National Zoo. Madison was saddened to see all of these wonderful unique creatures who would all surely perish when the Rock hit.

At last, Madison and Mark hesitantly went to the FBI building. They were exhausted from the long drive and the sight-seeing, but they refused to sleep anywhere that wasn't protected with copper and aluminum. Mark and Madison made sure not to be separated as they entered the building. They were tired, but both kept a sharp eye out for anything suspicious. The inside of the building was exactly what they had expected it to be. It was large and open, with furniture and desks lining the walls. Large potted plants dotted the room. Oh yeah, tons of places for bugs and cameras to be planted.

Madison and Mark walked together towards the main desk adjacent to the row of metal detectors leading to the rest of the building. Clearing her throat, Madison gave her and Mark's names to the receptionist. The receptionist, being the good little federal spook that she was, gave the pair a bland look and entered their names into the registrar. 

Suddenly a loud beeping noise came from behind her. Madison shot around, ready to make a run for it. No group of angry agents met her eyes. Only a slightly surprised-looking elderly woman holding a pager. Oops.

Moments later, two federal agents greeted her and Mark. "Ms. Carter, Mr. Hammerson? We have been expecting you. Can you please come with us?" The federal agents began walking back through the metal detectors. Madison knew that she and Mark could not go through them. That would mean that they would have to remove their aluminum suits, exposing them to dozens, maybe even a hundred different government signals. 

"Excuse me," Madison protested, "we would rather not go further into the building. Anything you have to tell us, you can tell outside." The federal agents insisted, but Madison and Mark would not budge. 

Eventually, the agents gave up and called their boss down. He introduced himself as Benjamin Tonja. Agent Tonja escorted Madison and Mark to a secluded part of the lobby and went through the procedure for the next couple days. 

Madison didn't like the hibernation part, even though it was the most vital part of the entire process. Who knows what, other than the ventilation tubes, was going into the subject's head? Nonetheless, this was her only way to survival. Anyway, there wasn't going to be any government left to monitor her. Or is that what they wanted you to think? 

Madison and Mark were escorted to a private air strip. The FBI agent led them to the plane and told them that another FBI agent would be waiting for them when they landed. Madison was glad to be rid of the FBI escort, even if it was only temporary. She wished that they would just tell her and Mark where they were going. This way they could get there on their own, without a FBI escort. 

The people at the FBI building insisted they be escorted and refused to give them any relevant information on where they were going for security reasons. All she knew is that they were going to Florida. The plane was going to take four hours to get to there. Madison pulled out her two copies of the Weekly World News, one of which was two years old. Madison started reading the most recent, which she bought the previous week. 

"I don't know why you read that garbage," Mark commented. "There isn't an ounce of truth in that entire magazine."

"Newspaper Mark. NEWS paper. It is the only one bold enough to state the facts as they are. Do you know of any other paper that would tell the world about giant ants attacking a home maker? Or of the birth of bat boy? No, you don't. All the other so-called 'news' papers are politically correct. And we both know that the politicians want to keep people in the dark about what goes on in the world. 

"But you know what the sad part is? People let it happen. They only care about what is going on in their life and keep a blind eye to everything else. If you ask ..."

Madison was cut short by violent shaking in the plane. She and Mark quickly buckled their seat belts. Madison looked out the window and saw streams of fire falling through the sky. They were under attack! It was all a setup to kill her and Mark. Stupid! She was so stupid to put her trust in FBI agents that she never met.

At last, the rain of fire ended and the plane became steady once again. Mark turned and whispered to Madison, "Those must have been small fragments from the Rock."

"Yeah," she agreed, grateful that Mark couldn't read minds, "must have been."

At 10 PM, the plane landed. Both Madison and Mark were a bit shook up by the small fragments that nearly took their plane down. The FBI agent immediately whisked them away into a black Grand Jeep Cherokee. 

It pulled in front of a familiar hotel. Madison recognized it almost immediately. It was the same hotel that Savannah and her family were staying in. She remembered that the hotel was not very secure. She would have to make a trip to the grocery store and buy a lot of aluminum foil to counter act all of the government signals surely entering this building. After much debate, the FBI agent agreed to take Madison to a late-night store while Mark settled into the room (with his aluminum suit of course).

"Geez ma'am, what are you going to do with all of that foil?"

Madison looked at the agent through squinted eyes. "As if you didn't know. The government isn't going to be sending signals to my brain today, thank you very much." The agent must have known she knew one of the government's greatest secrets, because he gave her a funny look as if she were crazy and suppressed a laugh. That was part of the cover-up though, make the people who know the truth look like idiots to the public.

Madison purchased the fifty boxes of foil, along with the most recent Weekly World News, before making her way back to the hotel with the agent. Mark was already in bed, but Madison had her work cut out for her. She immediately began taping the foil to the walls and ceiling, breaking every so often to skim the Weekly World News. 

A couple hours later, she was almost done. All she had left was the outside of the hotel door. She placed the newspaper behind her and got to work. A few minutes later, she heard someone slip behind her. She turned around, surprised that someone was out in hall so late. It was a middle-aged man, perhaps a decade older than she. He proceeded to inadvertently slip on her precious Weekly World News.


	10. Chapter 10

*** Days Until Impact: 5 ***

****

Chapter 10

"Our fate will be out of our hands."

It was T Minus Five. Five days until the Rock would hit and destroy Earth. "Come on, Sky, where are you?" Calee muttered to herself. She had to tell him what to wear, so they could find each other. A ringing noise made her look up. Yes! 

****

CosmAstra: It's about time you got on here ... 

Sky grinned at the little window that popped up right away. 

****

ImmersedINClouds: Miss me did you? 

****

CosmAstra: Not hardly. Listen, I met this girl named Angel online. We figured out how to find each other. She'll be wearing a purple necklace, I'll have a green hat. What about you?

****

ImmersedINClouds: I got this kicking shirt that's blue and has a dragon on it. Will that do? 

****

CosmAstra: Perfect. 

****

CosmAstra: They're coming for us. In two days. 

A sudden desperation took over her. 

****

CosmAstra: Sky, I don't want to leave, my dad is trying to stay away, I know he's trying to make it easier, but I don't want to leave him here. 

Sky looked at the screen in surprise, wondering what to say. He couldn't understand what she was feeling, he got to bring his whole family. 

****

ImmersedINClouds: Calee, your dad must care a lot about you to send you, it just shows his love. I would make the next two days really count with him. I know this is hard. 

He paused, trying to think of something else to say. 

****

ImmersedINClouds: I'm sorry 

Calee swallowed hard, forcing the lump in her throat to fall into her stomach. It stayed there, a little ball of coldness. She shouldn't push this on Sky. Her father, Sky, everyone who knew about the Rock was being strong. She had to follow their example. 

****

CosmAstra: Thank you, Sky. I'm sorry I fell apart like that. 

****

ImmersedINClouds: Its ok, I get it, I guess its hard. 

****

CosmAstra: Yeah. Yeah, it is. 

****

CosmAstra: Sky, what do you think will happen to us? When we wake up. 

****

ImmersedINClouds: Nothing, it'll be just like normal. I wonder what this ship looks like though. will it be big enough for all of us?? its weird, I have never had anything in my life I couldn't control... but this out of my reach you know? 

****

CosmAstra: Yes. Our fate will be out of our hands. It's funny. Since I was little, I dreamed of being an astronaut, of going to space. Now, I guess I'm going.

****

ImmersedINClouds: An astronaut?? I always just wanted to fly. I know how to pilot and everything, I was gonna go into the Air Force. Guess I'll be getting my big chance too. Funny, its not making me as happy as I would have expected. 

****

CosmAstra: Yeah. Me either. 

****

CosmAstra: Sky, with all my studying, I know the odds are that we're not going to survive, either. But ... suppose there is a habitable planet around that star they're shooting us to. Suppose we survive. What are we going to do when we get there? We'll be the only vestiges of humanity left in the universe. 

Sky looked at the question, having himself wondered the same thing so many times. 

****

ImmersedINClouds: Live. I guess. They're putting a lot of kids, like us, on the ship. My dad said it will be up to our generation to reproduce all of humanity. Weird right? 

Calee frowned at Sky's choice of words. She knew he was right, but it bothered her. She, Sky, and others like them, would be the having babies sooner than later. 

****

CosmAstra: Yeah ... weird. I'm not ready for a child any time soon. 

****

ImmersedINClouds: yeah, me neither. At least, not any time soon, that's for sure 

Calee was about to type a reply, when another IM popped up onto her screen. It was from Watcher58@DSA. It read, "You can't talk about this anymore, kiddies. Save the chitchat for two days."

She slammed her fist on the table. "No!" They couldn't stop her from talking to him! He was the only person she could talk to! With a feeling of lead on her back, she collapsed on the desk, weeping into her arms.

Sky looked at the computer in disbelief. They couldn't do that! They had been monitoring their conversation? He glared, feeling ready to hit something. Calee had been the only one he could talk to. He hit the desk and threw the chair back, then went outside, mad, and looking for trouble.


	11. Chapter 11

****

Chapter 11

"It's the end of the world, now is not the time to be so cautious."

Logan looked up at the woman, startled. He gave a small smile. "Wow, there's someone else in this world as weird as me and up at this time, nice to meet you, I'm Logan."

"You must be crazy if you go around without any protection," Madison answered. "I am just about finished with the door. Why don't you come on in? They probably won't be able to get any signals to this room now." Madison led him in and closed the door. "My name is Madison. My friend Mark is in the other room sleeping."

Logan laughed. He had never been afraid a day in his life. Not even when he found out the world was ending. Somehow, everything seemed to turn out for him in the end. Like them going on the Mayflower. That was a stroke of luck. He nodded to her question and grabbed her newspaper, walking in quietly, not wanting to wake Mark. "So Madison, what are you doing up at this time of the night?"

"I can't rest knowing that the government may be watching me, maybe even manipulating my thoughts." Madison lifted up her shirt to reveal a shiny undershirt. "My aluminum suit offers some comfort, but it can get a bit itchy after awhile. I've been taping up the aluminum foil to block the penetrating government signals. I've also been reading the paper. I think I may have figured out what the aliens are up to."

Madison hesitated before telling him more. She must sound crazy to him, but she spoke the truth. The government was very sly, making her appear to be the crazy one when she warned others of their conspiracies. 

Logan didn't crack a smile. Obviously this was something this Madison lady believed in strongly. He knew Savannah would have laughed both of them out of the room, but he really didn't trust the government much either. Probably not to the point Madison did, but he had his reservations. He nodded. "It's a good idea to stay up-to-date with stuff like that. What are all the aliens up to nowadays?" he asked his last question, not knowing whether it should be phrased seriously or joking, so it ended up sounding unnatural.

Madison was excited. It was quite rare to find someone who didn't laugh in her face. She just thought of those people as being naïve and didn't give them a second thought. In fact, now that she thought about it, with the exception of her connections, only Mark had ever believed her. Her parents even thought that she was extreme. That is, until they died "naturally" of meningitis. Yeah, right. Madison was more than happy to share her information with Logan. "Well, before the information of the Rock came out, one of my connections told me that the aliens and the government were conspiring. About what, we were not sure of, until today."

"What was so special about today?" Logan asked, genuinely curious.

"I read in the Weekly World News that saucers were found hovering over the Pacific Ocean. I think that they aliens knew about the Rock and they wanted to warn us. They then discovered that we do not have the technology to save everyone, so they decided to work with the government to keep the Rock a secret. This would prevent a wide-spread panic. Everyone can spend their last days happy in their oblivious worlds. Imagine, to discover sentient life on other planets only to find out that you are going to die within a week. I hope I will get to meet the aliens one day."

"Well, that's quite some theory you got there. Wouldn't it be a joke on all of us if you were right."

"But I am!" Madison ran into another room and came back holding a Weekly World News paper. "Look here at the date. It is from two years ago. Then on page four they have an entire article about The Rock It says that an asteroid will hit in five days. You see! They were right about the Rock, and they are right about the aliens! Um, you do know about the Rock, right?"

Logan looked at it for a minute quietly, taking in the fact that Madison could be right. Weird ... he shook his head to get his focus back on her question. "Yeah, actually, I'm not gonna be here for it, though. Going on some ship called The Mayflower. Not much of a chance it'll work, but you know," he said, not minding at all telling Madison. Savannah always said he was way too trusting, he just automatically figured people to be good, though.

"Yes, the Mayflower. Mark and I are going on it, too. I guess you can say my paranoia finally paid off. I think that they are bringing Mayflower occupants to this hotel first." It then occurred to Madison that this guy looked really familiar. She thought hard and recalled his picture in a file ... Savannah's file! He must be related to Savannah, probably her husband. She quickly decided to not let him know about Savannah. That knowledge would only cause him harm and distress.

"Good, it's nice to meet somebody who has a chance of survival, it's sorta hard to talk to those who don't. I feel bad when I do." He smiled proudly. "My wife got us on. I don't know how, but she has always been ingenious. My boss just offered it to her. He's about the crankiest guy in the world, but I guess Savannah got to him, cause he seems to really like her. I think you'd like my wife, you two should meet sometime."

"She sounds like a great lady. Perhaps we will run into each other before take off. If you don't mind me asking, do you two have any kids?"

Logan smiled again, thinking of his kids. "Yep, three. Oldest one, Sky, looks a lot like me, but has more of his mother's personality. Then I got me a little girl and boy. The only person who loves those kids more than I do is Savannah. The younger two are troublemakers; Sky, well, like I said, he's not like me," Logan said with a wink and a grin. "What about you? You and this Mark fellow got any kids?"

Madison let out a little laugh. The idea of her and Mark having children was a bit funny. They must be doing a great job posing as a couple. "Actually, Mark and I have a sort of business relationship. I discover the conspiracies and he taps into personal links, sometimes even a million at a time. We don't get close to each other because of the risk that one of us will die. We care about each other and that is the important thing. He is the only one who has been with me through everything. He's a good guy, but we are not married."

Logan looked at her questioningly. "Must be hard to live that way. I don't think I could. Never letting yourself get close. Maybe you should rethink your decision not to get to close to Mark. You care about him, and more importantly, he understands you. It's the end of the world, now is not the time to be so cautious."

"Now, more than ever, is the time to be cautious. The government would exploit our feelings the second it got a chance. I don't let myself get close to anyone, not even my parents. And a good thing too, look what the government did to them. Seven years after visiting federal buildings they got meningitis, which is really when government implants break down in the brain."

Madison took a step back. All the sudden she became light-headed, confused and scared. Her heart was beating a mile a minute and she could hardly breath. Why was she telling him all this? Did she even know this guy; how could she be sure he could be trusted? Maybe he was working for Them. Her mind was racing about all of the different possibilities. She just wanted to cry out for it all to end. Why won't they leave her alone?

Logan was not convinced of her answer of not caring deeply for anyone, especially her parents. "But don't you regret not knowing while they did live? It is better to have love and lost, than to have never loved at all. That's one my dad used to quote to me all the time, after my mom died." 

He smiled ruefully. "It's been nice talking to you, but I have to go now, stay gone too long, and people start to wonder about me! I will make sure I catch up with you later. I never leave someone alone until they agree with my view point. My best quality, you know!"

He was leaving? Madison's panic began to recede, though her breathing still felt labored. She was in the clear, for now. Then again, his leaving was a little too coincidental. The second she asked for Them to leave her alone, he excuses himself. Was her aluminum shield not working? Maybe she should put a couple more layers of aluminum up.

Logan grinned, picking up his newspaper. "Have a nice night, Madison, or what's left of it. I really do hope things work out for you. Good night!" he said, then walked off, shaking his head at the funny woman, anticipating telling Savannah all about her the next morning.

Madison's breath continued in short gasps as she prepared for bed. She laid down on the unoccupied twin bed. She felt like there was an elephant sitting on her chest.

"You know, that man is right." Madison was a bit surprised to find Mark awake. She turned over to face Mark, but when she found herself short of breath, she turned back onto her back. Mark continued to speak. "After all of these years, you still consider our relationship to be business. The man is right, it is better to have loved and loss than to have never loved at all."

"Don't be absurd," Madison replied with a raspy voice. 

"Are you okay? Your voice sounds raspy." Mark paused a moment. "You had another panic attack, didn't you? This isn't healthy, you need to see a doctor. They have medicine to control the attacks."

"Are you crazy?!?! You want me to willingly take mind altering drugs? That is just what They want me to do. I'm fine, just a little short of breath. I don't need a doctor."

"No, you need a psychiatrist. Have you heard yourself lately? You're slipping, Madison. I admit that there are government conspiracies out there, but not as many as you think. Here is a news flash: The government doesn't care about private lives."

Madison could not believe what she was hearing. This was not at all like Mark. Usually he listened, agreed, and then added some ideas of his own when she told him about the latest news. No, the government wanted nothing more than to manipulate everyone they could. Mark must have been their newest target. The suit should have protected him from such signals though. She asked if he took off his aluminum suit before she finished taping up the aluminum foil.

Mark jumped out of bed. "See, this is exactly what I'm talking about. We don't need to go prancing around in these God-forsaken suits. The government is not sending secret transmissions and they are not putting implants into people."

"But Mark, my parents ..."

"Your parents died of meningitis. It was a bacterial infection that was not caught in time, not a government implant that melted down. We only have a five days before the Rock hits. You can see a doctor, maybe even receive a prescription, in that time." Mark paused, walk over, and put a comforting hand on Madison's shoulder. "You are letting this get into your head. You're lost within your own delusions. Madison, you need help."

Madison slapped away Mark's hand. Her voice was beginning to come back. "It is not I who needs help, but you. They must have gotten to you. I have worked my whole life to discover the government's secrets. They are there and they are REAL." 

Madison got out of bed and looked at Mark through squinted eyes. "My life was not in vain. I did not seclude myself from everyone and everything for nothing. Do you forget it was discovering top-secret information that has saved our lives? I'm sleeping on the couch tonight."


	12. Chapter 12

*** Days Until Impact: 4 ***

****

Chapter 12

"Why won't you look at me?"

"Dad?"

"Come in," her father called from in the study. Calee pushed the door open. Benjamin was staring at some papers and writing on another without looking at what he was writing. The only light came from a lamp, which cast strange shadows on his face. 

She stood in the doorway, watching her father write. There was a long moment of silence: Calee waiting, Benjamin ignoring her. Finally, something in her snapped. "Dad, why won't you look at me?"

The pen stopped moving. "Calee ..." 

"I know that you're trying to make it easier for me by working and not seeing me. I know that you think that will help me move on easier, and that it might help you when you die, but you're wrong, Dad, you're wrong! Those people are going to come for me tomorrow and then I'm going to lose another parent, and I don't want to remember you as sitting by a desk, waiting to die!"

Then, he was up, he had wrapped her into a hug and they both were talking at once.

"Anika, sweetheart, I didn't mean to--" 

"Daddy, I'm sorry I yelled, I love you Daddy--" 

"I love you too, Anika." 

Calee and her father spent their last night together remembering. They talked about trips they had taken, memories they had made. He would talk about her mother, and she would listen enraptured, as if hearing the stories for the first time. 

Towards the end of the night, before the first traces of light cast themselves over Texas, Calee asked, "Dad ... where are you going to be? When the Rock hits." 

Her father smiled down at her sadly. "I'm going to be with your mother, Anika. I'll be by her grave. You look so much like her ..." 

Calee nodded, her head resting against his chest as they sat on the couch. Her dog, Ringo, lay curled up at their feet. "Can you take Ringo with you?" she asked quietly. "I don't want either of you to die alone." 

A tear dropped into her brown hair, as he answered, "Of course." 

An urgent knocking from the door and Ringo's immediate growl made them wake up. Benjamin got up from the couch and pulled the door open. Through the screen door, Calee could see two FBI agents and one DSA agent. It was impossible to mistake them. 

"FBI, sir," one of them said, and pushed into the house. 

Calee stood, and she and her father watched them tear apart their home. They hardly touched anything of her father's. Ringo ran back and forth between the three, sniffing and growling, trying to figure out if these were friends or foes. 

Calee followed the DSA agent up to her room, where he started running through her computer. "Interesting files," he muttered. "Do you save all of your homework?" 

She returned his bland look. "That's not homework. It's for fun." 

One of the FBI stuck her head into the room. "Pack a small, carry-on bag, Miss. No electronics." Then she was gone. 

Conscious of the DSA still typing away at her computer, Calee pulled on a plain white T-shirt, and threw her toothbrush and such things into her overnight bag. Remembering Sky and Angel, she pulled her bright green hat onto her brown hair. After a glance reassured her that the DSA guy wasn't looking at her, she pulled out the two precious packets of seeds and stuck one into each of her back pockets. 

The DSA finished, and Calee followed him silently downstairs. "Ready," he said to the two FBIs. 

"Let's go, Miss Campbell," said an FBI. 

Calee turned to stare at her father, her eyes wide. Her heart began hammering in her chest, and her hands felt clammy. It couldn't be happening. Not so fast! 

"Go on, Anika," her father said. 

"No," she whispered, her voice barely audible. "I can't." 

He gripped her shoulders. "You must. You must! You have to be strong, pumpkin." He pulled her into a hug, and Calee wrapped her arms around him as tight as she could. "I'll always be with you, honey."

"Dad," she choked out. "I love you. I love you!" 

"I love you, Anika. Always keep hope." 

Calee stared out the window of a black Suburban as it pulled away from her house, her dog, her father, and her life. Twenty minutes later, she boarded a private jet, and then left Texas. She was the only one on board except the pilot, and stared out the window the entire trip. 

They landed near Cape Canaveral. Calee saw people there, more than there should be. The psychos who knew the truth. Two more FBI agents picked her up from the airport. The one turned on the radio, flipped it to a country station. A brief thought of amazement went through her blank mind--she didn't think anyone out here listened to country. Calee stared out at the beautiful greenness of Florida, and the song's words permeated her mind, forcing her to focus on them. 

"A little voice came on the phone, said 'Daddy, when you coming home?' He said the first thing that came to his mind: 'I'm already there. Take a look around. I'm the sunshine in your hair, I'm the shadow on the ground. I'm the whisper in the wind, I'm your imaginary friend, and I know I'm in your prayers, oh I'm already there.'" 

The words shot through her soul, and silent tears slipped down her cheek. She rested her head against the window and just wanted to lie down and cry and cry and cry. 

"We may be a thousand miles apart, but I'll be with you, wherever you are. I'm already there. Take a look around. I'm the sunshine in your hair, I'm the shadow on the ground. I'm the whisper in the wind, and I'll be there til the end. Can you feel the love that we share? Oh, I'm already there."

The car stopped in a corner of the base that hadn't been used in years. 

The barracks she would stay in was run down, shabby, a horrible place to live in for any extended periods of time. There was a chain-link fence surrounding the area. She walked in to a barrage of noise. Everyone was talking all at once. Calee walked down the long hallway, hugging her bag to her, trying to fold in on herself from all of the people here. Her foot came down on something squirming, and she shrieked. A roach. They were everywhere. She hated roaches. She hated all of this. 

Collapsing on a lower bunk, Anika Lee Campbell huddled into a small ball, and tried to tune out the doomed world. 


	13. Chapter 13

*** Days Until Impact: 3 ***

****

Chapter 13

"We'll meet tomorrow, we will find a path ..."

Angel walked into a cemetery. Her sister, Dream (real name Francine) was buried there. Dream had been a real beauty. She had soft, lush, curly blonde hair that became streaked with red gingery highlights during the summer. Her smile was gorgeous, her lips full, and she always wore a juicy-flavored shiny gloss. Her eyes were a midnight blue shade, but there was a powdery blue, almost silver ring separating the pupil and iris. Her skin was soft and supple, smooth and clear, acne free. Dream had always been a joy to be around. She was nice and kind to everyone she met. Boys had always been attracted to her. 

Dream was hit by a car when she was eighteen. 

She had been crossing the road at night, and the driver was drunk and didn't have his headlights on. Of course, the driver walked without a scratch. Dream had been badly injured, and was rushed to the hospital. She lived for another few hours, and died in the comfort of her family and friends. Angel had been curled up on the bed beside Dream, holding her hand, telling her it would be alright, though there was nothing the doctors could do. 

That was two years ago, when Angel was twelve. Angel had gotten red streaks in her light brown hair in memory of Dream. Sometimes she had nightmares that *she* was Dream being hit by the car.

"Hey, Dream. Uh, just thought I'd let you know that I'm going away today. And I won't be back. Ever. So, uh, just thought I'd give you these." Angel pulled a bouquet of violets and lilacs out, and placed them gently by Dream's tombstone. "I, uh, knew purple flowers were your favorite ... so I brought you some." 

Angel sighed. "I'm going to miss coming out here. But, if you would just, you know, check on me now and then, that would be great." Angel laid down on the earth over where Dream rested. "I love you a lot, Dream. I wish you hadn't died. But then again, if you hadn't, then you would have to go through the pain of what's going on right now. So I don't know what to think, really." Angel sighed, wondering if maybe the Americans were really lying, really just trying to scare them. But she knew it was true, too true.

Angel laid with Dream for a few more minutes. She then kissed the ground, and got up. "I have to go now. Goodbye, Dream ..." She then left Dream's grave with the bouquet of lilacs and violets and walked back to the house. 

Angel looked out a second story window of her large home to see a black Suburban drive up. Two men and a woman wearing black suits got out of the car walked up and into the building, but she could still faintly make out a figure of another man in the front seat. 

She sighed nervously, and held out her hand. It shook. She hoped it would be still, that she could be brave. She took a deep, calming breath, forced it still, and slowly trudged down the stairs to find her father and his bodyguard talking one of the men. 

The other man standing by her father looked up to see Angel walking down the stairs. He walked over and held out his hand to shake. As Angel took his hand, the man said, "Hello, ma'am. My name is Larson, Thomas Larson. We're with the FBI." Angel nodded. She had already noticed that he had an American accent. "These men and I will be accompanying you to the barracks," he said. He was a nice-looking fellow. He had light brown hair that was slicked back and bright green eyes that sparkled. His smile was a handsome one, and it reminded Angel of her uncle Adam. It was so sad he would be dead in three days.

"How do you do, Mr. Larson, I'm Angel."

"Now Angel, you may pack a small carry-on bag and take it with you, but that's all," he said, and she took off a small mini-backpack from her back and held it up.

"Is this all right?" Angel asked.

"It's perfect," Thomas responded. He placed an arm on her shoulder and escorted her to where the man and woman, her father, and now her mother were standing. She looked up at her mother. Dezirae's purple eyes sparkled as usual, but there was a hint of sadness in them.

"You have three minutes to say goodbye to your parents," the man who had been talking to her father just minutes earlier said to her. He had a rather gruff tone of voice.

Angel turned to her parents. "I don't know what to say ... I don't want to leave you." She paused for a moment. "I'll, uh, I'll be thinking of you. I know how hard this must be to be sacrificing your lives for me, but thank you. For everything." She paused again, and covered her mouth with her fingers, as part of her purple mascara ran down her cheek. "I'll try to be strong for you. I'm not sure if I'll be able to be strong, but I'll try. I love you so much."

She turned to her father. "Daddy, take care of Mommy until the Rock hits." Angel threw her arms around her father, crying. "I don't want you to die."

"I know, honey, I know. But in order for you to live, I have to die," Jack responded, hugging her firmly. "You'll be on our minds for the rest of our lives," he added, trying not to cry, and let go.

"Mother ... I love you so much. And I'll be thinking of both of you too," Angel hugged her mother tightly. 

"Don't worry. You'll live a long, happy life, and I want you to know that I love you and your father loves you, too. Don't you ever forget it. And don't you ever lose hope, you hear me?" Dezirae grabbed her daughter's shoulders gently, looking her firmly in the face. "You never, ever lose hope, no matter how desperate the situation, no matter how hopeless it seems. And I love you so much. And I'm so happy that you're going to live."

"I love you both, more than anything," Angel wiped the tears from her cheeks. "I'll be strong for you. I promise."

"We have to go now," the man with the gruff voice said.

"I'll never forget you," Angel whispered as she gave them a last hug.

"Goodbye, Mom, Dad..." She walked out the door with the three FBIs, and her parents followed them until just outside of the door. Angel looked back, and found that she could not bear the pain. She ran back to her parents and threw herself at their feet, begging, sobbing.

"Please, Mommy, Daddy, don't make me go, don't make me leave you! I'll do anything, just don't make me go without you, please!" Angel said between sobs. Her father leaned down and helped her to her feet. Her eyes smudged with wet mascara and eyeliner. "I can't make it without you, I can't do it! Please, don't make me do it!"

"Angel, Angel, get a hold of yourself," he said, and hugged her tightly. "Remember in Titanic? When all the men had to stay behind without their wives, and die? Remember that song. We'll meet tomorrow, we will find a path, and meet tomorrow past this day of wrath. Just remember those lyrics, okay?"

"But I can't make it, I'm not strong enough, please, I can't do it," Angel continued to sob.

"Angel, love, you have to. We don't have a choice. You don't have a choice. It's going to happen whether you go or not," Dezirae tried to reason.

"But I can't leave you. I love you," Angel looked up at her parents, tear-filled eyes begging.

"We love you too, but you've got to go, Angel. Godspeed, and be strong like the girl I know you can be," Jack said, and kissed the top of her head. Angel looked up at him, her eyes telling him and her mother that she loved them deeply. Then she let go, smiled at them as best as she could, turned, and walked to the car. And she didn't look back. 

While in the car, Angel wiped the teary mascara from her eyes. She then looked at the contents of her small bag. Packed in her bag were three sets of clothes, a pair of sandals, some hygiene necessities, one stick of lipstick. She pulled out a pair of dangly earrings made of silver with diamonds that her mother had worn when she married her father. She took off her purple dangling crescent moon earrings that she always wore and put her mother's earrings on. It almost felt as though her parents were dead already, but Angel forced the thought out of her mind. 

She pulled out the necklace she had told CosmAstra and Sky that she would wear. It was a pure silver chain with a somewhat large purple charm in the shape of a flower. It had been a gift from Dream. She put it around her neck and tilted it in the sunlight for a minute or two, then let it hang over her chest. 

"So what will it be like in this space shuttle?" Angel asked. 

"Well, you probably won't feel much cause you'll be asleep. And whenever you wake up, well I don't know because I won't be there." The gruff-voiced man said, and left it at that. Angel rested her head on the back of the seat.

"So why me? Why did you choose me to live?" Angel asked.

"Because your parents requested it, and NASA owed them, " Thomas replied softly. Angel sighed. She figured it would be best to remain silent for the rest of the ride. It didn't seem possible that this was happening.

About twenty minutes passed, and they arrived at the airport. The lady FBI and Thomas boarded a private jet headed for Cape Canaveral. The four, including the pilot, sat in mostly silence for the first four hours, but then Angel and Thomas asked each other questions, with the occasional two cents worth from the lady, whose name Angel had learned was Jessica Boone. Then after about three more hours, there were no more questions left to ask, and there was silence. The song that Angel and her parents had heard when they'd seen the musical ran through her head.

__

We will meet tomorrow, we will find a path, and reach tomorrow past this day of wraith. We'll be together once again. Cling to your hope and prayers till then. The song was from Titanic: A New Musical. _I'll hold thee closely as I say goodbye and keep your image in my memory's eye and all this love of ours will soar, come dawn or danger we'll meet tomorrow and have each other evermore. _Then there were a few more verses, then the company sang together. _And if tomorrow is not in store, let this embracing replace forever, keep us together evermore ..._

When they arrived at Cape Canaveral, Angel was pretty much worn out. The flight had taken nearly ten hours, and she hadn't slept at all during that time. It was almost three o'clock in Florida, since it had been ten in the morning when they left. They arrived at a barracks that had been abandoned a long time ago. The walls had chips and holes in them. There were three run-down buildings altogether, along with a mess tent and a few other structures surrounded by barbed wire. As they approached the entrance, Thomas gave her instructions on where to go. 

"Okay, listen Angel, you're going to go into that building-" He pointed to one of the three roughed up buildings. "-and find yourself a bunk. Anywhere. Then just climb onto it and rest. After that, the NASA people will tell you what to do." He took a deep breath. "Good luck, Angel," he said, and left with Jessica back to wherever they had been assigned.

Ruby was in her room when the FBI came to her house. Ruby heard the talking and the introduction, saying that they were the FBI. Not knowing what was going on, Ruby went out of her room and out to the living room where three FBI people and her parents were.

__

What's going on? Ruby asked, but only with her eyes. She looked at both her parents, then at the FBI who seemed to be in charge. She was a little worried, but relieved at the same time. Maybe the FBI were here to settle the thing between her and her parents. The thing that no one else knew about because her parents put on an act. She shook it off. Of course they wouldn't know.

"Oh. Honey, we're sorry," Ruby's dad said. Acting of course. "We didn't want to tell you because we didn't want you to be worried ..."

"The world is ... ending ... but we have a chance to survive. We have to go on a space shuttle ..." Her mom took over.

"You can have a carry-on size bag to bring with." The "head" FBI man said. "We are going to take you to the barracks as soon as you are done."

Ruby just nodded and went back to her room. She packed some clothes and some other necessities and when she was done, they went into a car and left for the two hour drive from Tampa to Cape Canaveral.

When Ruby got to the barracks, she was still wondering if it was just a joke or not. It was loud because of all the people talking, and it didn't look like they kept it in good condition. There were roaches all over the place.

"Now honey, I know you don't like roaches, but we'll survive this ..." Ruby's dad said, like he was talking to her, but it was aimed at his wife.

Ruby just rolled her eyes and found a bunk not taken. Her parents wanted the bottom because most of the kids were on the top, so Ruby was forced on top. Which she didn't really want, but she wasn't going to argue about it.

She went on the top and just started reading when her mom said, "Come on, meet some friends ..." Ruby just shook her head. "Well, okay ..." her mom said, and left with Ruby's dad to meet other parents. Ruby just continued reading.


	14. Chapter 14

****

Chapter 14

"It's not like you'll be doing anything for the next thousand years or so."

Madison was not able to sleep, despite having such a busy day. At 3:00 AM she gave up trying to fall asleep and grabbed her journal. This journal had been with her through thick and thin. For a moment, she just held it in her hands and thought about all of her adventures. Mark was wrong, her life had not been wasted. This journal proved it. After a moment, she placed the journal down and began reading Catcher in the Rye again. She was almost done when the FBI agents came and asked her to gather her belongings and wake up her friend. "You get him. I'll be ready in just a minute."

The FBI agents hesitated as they stepped inside. Needless to say, they were shocked by the shiny walls. They proceeded into the bedroom to wake Mark up. Neither Mark nor Madison unpacked, so they were ready to go in just 10 minutes. Mark wanted to reconcile with Madison, but everything was moving too quickly. He found his chance when they were escorted into a white van. It was occupied with another family, so he just whispered.

"Madison, you should really consider seeing a doctor before we leave. I am sure that they will have one where we are going."

"I don't need a doctor. Plus, those would be government doctors where we are going. I wouldn't trust my tooth brush with them." Mark persisted for half an hour. Madison was boiling inside. Her friend, her only friend had betrayed her. For Madison's entire life all she had heard was that she was delusional, insane, loony, crazy, and multiple other names. It had never hurt until now. 

"Madison, please listen, this behavior isn't healthy. You're being crazy."

Madison could not take this anymore. She burst out of her seat. "I AM NOT CRAZY!!!! Do you hear me? I am NOT crazy. I have spent my whole life trying to help nice people like them." Madison pointed to Logan's family sitting behind her. "I have worked my butt off to help ensure their constitutional rights, and everyone keeps calling me crazy! Well I'm not, okay? Just everyone, leave me ALONE!"

Madison abruptly fell into her seat and tried not to think of all of the eyes that were now staring at her.

Sky pulled his blue dragon shirt on over his white one and hurried downstairs. His dad was pacing impatiently. "Shouldn't the Feds be here by now?!" At that exact moment, the door was burst open and they were escorted out. Two people across the hall were being taken too, Sky's dad waved at the woman and his mom turned away nervously. They arrived at the barracks in no time and he began looking around for either a girl with a green hat or one with a purple necklace.

Angel wasn't watching where she was going, and bumped into a guy. He was an inch or two taller than her and had blonde curly hair. "Oh, I'm sorry, I wasn't watching where I was going." She held out her hand to shake. "I'm Angel."

Sky turned around to see who it was and shook her hand excitedly when she said 'Angel.' "Awesome, it's me, Sky," he said, focusing for a minute on her purple necklace, then shifting his eyes to her brown hair with streaks of cinnamon red. He smirked. Not many girls could pull that look off. She was okay. He began looking around again anxiously. "Know where CosmAstra is?"

Angel grinned, and replied, "No, I haven't seen CosmAstra, I just got here."

Sky felt a wave of disappointment but shook it off. He glanced around. "Uh, so, where's your family? Mine are all in their puny bunks. This place is awful, isn't it?"

Angel's face showed a bit of sadness. "Well, my sister is dead and my parents aren't coming."

Sky fumbled for something to say, mentally berating himself. Okay, so more kids than he thought were alone. He felt evil, like it was wrong he wasn't losing any family. "Uh, I'm sorry. Maybe you can hang out with me and my family. My mom always wanted a girl to talk too," he said, knowing his parents wouldn't mind, and already planning to extend the same offer to Calee.

Angel smiled. "Thank you, that's very kind of you." Angel grinned. "So where ya from?"

"Florida. My whole family lives here. All my relatives. Everybody. It was sorta hard leaving, ya know?" he said, looking down at the floor, then back up at her, this time with a grin. "This is so great that I already know people here. So, where are you from?"

Angel laughed a bit. "I thought it might be obvious that I'm from England, considering my accent."

Sky blushed. "Maybe to most people, but I've never been out of Florida, and I don't watch much TV. I wouldn't know England from Australia ..."

"Ah. Well my father, Jack Sherman, is, or rather was, the Prime Minister of England. My mother is named Dezirae, and my sister, Dream, died in a car accident two years ago."

"I'm sorry. But hey, Prime Minister, huh? So are you like all religious or something?" he asked.

"Well, kind of, but it's not the only thing on my mind," she said. "So tell me a bit about you."

Sky shrugged. "I like sports. Hanging out. Really, I love soccer. It's like my life. That and flying ... I wanna, erm, was gonna be a pilot when I got old enough, guess that won't be happening now though ... So, what about you?"

"Well, I like to read, cross stitch, sing. I wanted to be a writer though."

"Sounds cool. I don't really do much of any of that, but it seems like stuff I might have to learn to do ... if I don't wanna get too bored ..."

"Why would you need to learn to do those? It's not like you'll be doing anything for the next thousand years or so."

Sky nodded ruefully. "Yeah, but it's after the thousand years I'm worried about ..."

"Well I suppose, but there's not going to be anything to cross stitch or read." She smiled. "But I'm sure you can sing fine if you tried hard enough."

Sky grinned. "Sure I can. Just ask the choir teacher who gave me an F."

"Aww. I could teach you how to sing easily. Just try it. Go ahead, here now, sing."

Sky looked at her for a second like she was crazy. He was about to say something when he saw a disturbance and a bunch of kids beating one kid up. He looked like he could handle himself, but still the odds seemed unfair. Then, the kid being beat up talked to them for a second. Sky looked over at the kids who were walking away glaring, then walked over to the other one with Angel. "Hey, I'm Sky."

The kid looked over at them both. "Yago."

"Yago?! Oh God, please tell me YOU'RE not coming!!" Angel yelled, a look of despair on her face.

Yago looked at Angel and smirked. "Ah, the lovely Prime Minister's daughter ..."

Sky looked at them both in confusion. "You two know each other?"

Yago turned to Sky with a faintly mocking grin. "Allow me to introduce myself, Yago, the President's son."

Sky nodded. "I thought you looked familiar!"

Angel stared at Yago coldly. "We met each other a few months ago." She told Yago. Without taking her threatening stare from Yago, she spoke to Sky. "Our parents wanted us to go out. But Yago was such a jerk that I refused. Isn't that right, Yago? Remember what you did?"

"My dear girl, I consider it your own fault. If you are too much of a prude to take what is offered to yourself ... Well, that is your fault."

Sky was watching with confusion. They must have some special kind of relationship. "Uh, so, it's great you two know each other, maybe we can all hang out sometime ..."

"Oh. It's my fault. It's all my fault that you purposely and gladly, might I add, broke the rare glass lamp that my sister gave me for my birthday THREE DAYS BEFORE SHE DIED!! IT'S JUST ALL MY FAULT, ISN'T IT NOW YAGO? HUH?!" Angel shuddered, and quickly gained her temper. "But it's all over now." A tear ran down her cheek at the thought of her sister, and she turned her head away.

Yago glared threateningly. "You brought that on yourself when you embarrassed me in front of everybody," he said, glowering.

Sky nodded. "Are you alright, Angel?" he asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Thanks for asking," Angel replied softly.

"Lover's quarrel, you understand my boy," Yago said, grinning.

Sky nodded, and made a quick exit. For a moment, he looked back at Angel, hoping she didn't feel deserted, then began searching for Calee.

Yago turned back to Angel with a smirk. "Looks like I'm not the only guy you scare ..."

"I'm sorry I blew up at you, but you deserved it. Leave Sky alone. And while you're at it, grow up." Angel wiped the tear from her cheek.

Yago looked at Angel in surprise. Crying. A sign of weakness ... he looked away gruffly, then turned back. "I will talk to whoever I feel like talking to. Good day, Angel," he said with a snarl then walked away.

"Yeah, well it won't be a good day since I saw you," Angel said. She looked around for Sky. He had left her. Right. She figured. She probably scared him off what with her arguing with Yago, or maybe he just plain and simple didn't like her. Oh well. She walked around for a while, looking at people, feeling alone. Finally, she just sat against a wall, and watched people filing past her. 

NASA figured out that Becca knew about the Mayflower. She was too shocked to hide her presence in the system.

So she wasn't too shocked when the call came.

"We know what you know." She could tell the voice was put through some kind of filter. She wasn't stupid.

"I won't hide it, then. I do know," she replied shakily.

"We're prepared to make you a deal, Rebecca Emerson."

"What do you mean, a deal?"

"We're willing to offer you a berth on the Mayflower. Think about it, Miss Emerson. You'll survive the end of the world. You'll be one of only eighty humans left."

"There must be a catch. Always a catch."

"Yes. The price for your berth on the Mayflower is your complete silence. We strongly urge you to accept, Miss Emerson, both for your sake, and ours. Think about what panic this would cause, should it go public."

She thought for only a moment. She was close to no one. She'd be leaving no one she cared about behind.

"Miss Emerson, we are waiting for your decision."

"I accept," she replied shakily. Then, again, more steadily, "I accept."


	15. Chapter 15

****

Chapter 15

"You'll see the paranoid were right."

Sky looked around for Calee, or a green hat, or anything. But Calee lay half-hidden on her chosen bunk, the tears staining her face, ignorant of the people passing her or of time gone by. 

Madison burst into the barracks. She did not want to talk to Mark. She was fuming. She threw her stuff on a top bunk that was not taken. Below her, she heard some kid crying. Madison was never one to console people, but the crying was distracting her. "Hey kid, what's the matter with you?"

Sky looked around, finally finding her on a bunk bed, crying softly. He ran over. "What's going on? Are you okay?"

Calee looked up to see two figures above her, both of them blurry and asking her what was wrong. "Who are you?" she whispered, her voice hoarse.

"My name is Madison. What's yours?"

"Calee, it's me, Sky," he said, forgetting to call her CosmAstra. 

Calee heard Madison's words, but ignored them when she heard the other figure's name. "Sky!" she cried out, and leapt up from the bed, banging her head in the process. She wrapped her arms around him as if he was the last person on Earth, and cried. "Sky!"

"Hey! I asked your name!" Madison muttered, "Dumb kid."

Sky almost fell down in surprise, but caught himself and automatically wrapped his arms around her, letting her cry on his shoulder, glancing up at the lady above him apologetically. He turned away then, giving into the most wonderful feeling: Hugging Calee.

"Hi Sky." When he turned, Madison felt her anger begin to rise. Being called crazy is one thing, but to be ignored by kids? Madison got up on her knees, "Hey, listen, I am trying to be nice here."

Sky let go of Calee in surprise. It was the crazy lady from his house.

Sky's arms were strong, Calee felt like if he held her long enough, the world's problem would melt away, but he let her go. She then realized that the other figure, a woman, was angry.

Madison gave a smile. That got their attention. "I'm Madison. I am a friend of your parents," she said to Sky.

Sky looked at Madison suspiciously. "Why did my mom cry after you left, then?"

"Hmm, maybe because the world is coming to an end?"

"I'm sorry, ma'am," Calee said to Madison. "I'm just ... well, my name's CosmAstra. I'm sorry I was crying. It's just that ... my father ..."

"Is dead?" Madison finished. "Oh boo hoo, so is mine. In fact, both my parents are dead. In fact, most people are dying. Live with it."

Ignoring her, Sky just took Calee back into his arms. "It's okay. I understand."

"No you don't," Madison continued. "Both your parents are alive. Your whole family is alive. You can never understand."

Sky glared over Calee's head at Madison. "Don't you have something better to do then bother us?"

"Hey, I'm on my bunk. I didn't mean to snap at you. I've had a bad day and no sleep."

Calee turned to Madison. "No, I'm sorry. You're right, lots of other people are dying. I shouldn't be acting so weak." She paused. "If you want me to find another bunk, I will ..."

"Nah, you're a good kid. I shouldn't have snapped, I'm sorry."

Sky was really glaring at Madison now. She had insulted his friend. As far as he was concerned, she was no friend of his family's.

"In all honesty, CosmAstra, I don't know what you are going through. I never cared much about my parents. When they died, I just said, 'oh well,' and got on with my life."

Calee looked at Madison in a bit of pity. How could someone not be close to their parents?

"It's not like I didn't warn them. I told them not to go to the federal buildings, but they did. The government implants in their brains suffered a melt down and killed them seven years later."

Calee blinked. This was unexpected. "Um, excuse me, but you seem a bit ... paranoid."

"That is what They want you to think. Or manipulate us to think. Not me though, I have an aluminum suit to protect me. You should get one too, there must be a lot of signals in here. Telling us what to do if we survive, how to act, etc."

Sky laughed out loud. "You're crazy, lady."

Madison glared at Sky. "Kid, I may look crazy, but it is the so-called normal people who are wrong. You'll see, when we meet the aliens. You'll see the paranoid were right."

Sky looked unconvinced. "Sure, yeah right ..."

"You know, you could learn something from your father. He has an open mind. He listens."

"You have no right to talk about my father, or anyone else in my family, you're a lunatic!" Sky replied. Then he felt a firm hand on his shoulder and looked up.

"Now Sky, I'm just gonna say this once. Apologize to Madison."

Sky glared at Madison. "Okay, I'm sorry."

He turned back to his dad then. "Dad, this is CosmAstra, CosmAstra, my father."

Calee swallowed, nervous from the fight, and nodded. "Hello, sir ..."

Logan smiled at Calee easily. "Hey, what's up?" he said, then winked at Sky. He turned to Madison. "I'll tell you, that boy moves fast, already got himself a girl." Sky blushed but Logan grinned, oblivious.

Calee looked down at her feet. She had never blushed in her life, but this had made her come close.

Madison was silent. Was he trying to tell her something in that comment? He had said it is better to have love and lost than to have never loved at all. Madison finally found some words. "That's kids for ya."

Calee stood unconsciously close to Sky as the adults talked, and observed. It was what she usually did in public places with her father ... only her father wasn't here, and Sky was.

Logan smiled widely at everybody. "So, what are you guys talking about? Sports? You know, old Sky here is quite talented at soccer."

Sky nudged his dad, embarrassed. "Dad!"

"I never really got into such things." Madison paused. "I'm sorry. Sky and I did not get off to a very good start."

Logan looked at Sky sternly. "I can guess who's fault that was. Don't worry Madison, he'll act more polite next time," Logan said.

"No, it was really mine. I was too abrupt with his friend. He was trying to protect her." Madison winked at Logan and smiled.

Calee felt uncomfortable with all this winking. "Uh, Sky, do you want to go get something to eat?" she asked.

Sky nodded at Calee gratefully. "Yeah, let's go," he said, quickly leaving his dad with Madison.

Madison gave a small laugh, "Kids, even when the world is about to end, they don't want to hang around parents."

Logan shrugged. "I don't really want to be around him either, he was embarrassing me," he said jokingly.

"Your son must think I'm the biggest lunatic in the whole world," Madison said. "I say things I later regret. I was not very sympathetic to his friend. I was upset and took it out on her."

Logan grinned. "My son can be very abrupt, and he has his mother's temper. Don't worry about it." He looked at her with concern, trying to decide whether or not to broach the subject that he was thinking about. "So, I guess things with you and Mark aren't going so well?"

"He said I was crazy. Everyone says I'm crazy. But for all I know, I'm the only normal one and everyone else is crazy." She paused, and then added, "He wants me to see a doctor."

Logan smiled gently. "I'm sorry. If it's any consolation, I don't think you're crazy ..."

Madison gave him a suspicious look. "Why? Why are you the only one who thinks I'm sane?"

Logan shrugged. "I don't know, you're the one who knows people. I'm just the guy out to get his paper."

Madison wasn't so sure she accepted that answer. In any other situation, she would have accused him for working for the government. But there were only three days left before the world blew up. Maybe she'd give this guy a chance. Finally, she said, "I'm thirsty, want to get something to drink?"

Logan nodded. "Yeah, I'm a bit hungry myself."

Madison hopped down from her bunk and walked downstairs with Logan.

Yago walked around briskly, trying to look in charge. He saw Angel alone, and walked over with a smirk. "Guess you couldn't find your friend Sky, huh?" 

"I didn't spend that much time looking for him," Angel answered.

Yago grinned at Angel. "Good then, I am assuming him not to be your boyfriend?"

Angel lifted her head slightly. "No. I told you, I met him ten minutes ago."

Yago nodded. "I don't always believe what I hear," he said, his eyes darkening.

She sniffed at him. "That's your problem. Not mine."

Yago shook his head. "You really are a mystery to me."

"Yeah, well that's too bad, because this is one mystery you aren't going to see any more of." Angel stood up to leave.

Yago jumped up to stop her. "Wait!" he said grabbing her arm. "I think it's a mystery I want to solve ..."

Angel turned to face him. "Then you're going to have to shape up your attitude, because I'm not going to put up with your arrogance."

Yago smiled slyly. "Of course ..."

Angel raised an eyebrow. "Why do I think that you're up to something?"

Yago shrugged innocently. "I have no idea." He grinned. "Want to go get something to eat?"

A smile slightly crossed Angel's lips. "Sure, why not."

He nodded, walking quickly into the dining hall, immediately spotting the boy she'd been with earlier. This might be fun, he thought, grinning evilly. "Let's go talk to your friend," he said, walking over quickly.

Angel sighed. _God help us,_ she thought.

Calee and Sky had walked to the lower level, and from there to the refreshment table. "At least they have good food ..." she muttered.

Sky nodded, just glad to be away from his father. Then he saw Angel and Yago walking towards them and leaned in to whisper to Calee. "That's Angel and her friend Yago, but be careful, they have a lover's relationship ..." he said, sounding confused.

Calee frowned. "What does that mean?" she muttered, but then they were upon them.

"Hi," Angel said simply, with a grin. "You're CosmAstra, aren't you?"

Calee smiled. "Angel! Hi!"

Yago grinned hugely. "Hello Sky, and who's your friend?" he asked, looking at Calee passively, as if she were unimportant.

Calee frowned. Something about the boy looking at her sent a shiver down her spine, but she said nothing.

Sky nodded at Yago. "This is CosmAstra."

Calee stuck out her hand. "Hi. And you are?"

Yago looked at Calee's hand as if it were a box of worms, and slowly stuck his own out. Then, he quickly withdrew it. "Charmed, I'm sure," he said, but his voice let her know she annoyed him and he didn't want her there.

Calee said nothing and immediately shrank into herself, retreating to simply observe.

"Be nice, Yago," Angel reminded again, quietly.

Ruby finished the chapter and got a sudden urge to eat something. It had just occurred to her that she had gone hours without anything to eat. She saved her place and jumped off the bunk, putting the book in her pocket. She started to head for the cafeteria and when she got there, she could smell the food. Ruby just got a plate of stuff and so forth and found a place to just sit and eat. She found an empty table and sat there.

Sky wasn't picking up on the undercurrent, and smiled cheerfully. "This is great, we all know each other." He grabbed a plate and went to sit at an almost empty table except for a girl their age. He grinned. "Hey, I'm Sky, and this is Yago and Angel and CosmAstra."

"Hi," Ruby said, kind of surprised someone would say 'hi' to her.

Calee simply sat at the table and looked at the girl. She seemed quiet, withdrawn, much like Calee herself.

Ruby suddenly thought it rude not to have said her name. "My name's Ruby," she said and went back to eating.

Angel held out her hand. "Hi Ruby. My name is Angel."

Ruby bit her bottom lip and shook Angel's hand.

Sky grinned at Ruby. "Hey." Yago ignored her introduction.

Logan and Madison walked into the cafeteria and looked around for an empty space to sit after getting Madison her drink.

Madison looked at her drink questioningly. She remembered that she had a purifier pill in her pocket and quickly dropped it in. Logan looked at Madison curiously, but said nothing. A minute later, Madison felt that the water was safe to drink.

Madison saw Sky and Calee and felt a tinge of guilt. "I'm going to try to make amends with your son. Maybe he'll be as forgiving as you."

Logan saw his son sitting at a table. He nodded, and walked over with Madison.


	16. Chapter 16

****

Chapter 16

"But hey, the world is coming to an end, what do we have to lose?"

A dull gray van pulled up to the barracks compound with a low groan. The door slid open, seven people piled out; two teens - boy and girl, obviously not related, a young woman, and two sets of parents.

Kara eyed the barracks with an inscrutable expression. Myth, stuffing something into his coat pocket (yes, he was wearing a coat!), smiled merrily.

"Gee, this is nice. All this for us? You check in, I want to find the tennis courts."

Kara's parents said something about claiming bunks. Myth's 'rentals nodded, and soon the young lady and Myth were standing alone in the barracks ground. Parents didn't tell Amen what to do anymore. She allayed their parental fears by asking them to save her a bunk. She didn't feel like just settling in and doing nothing for a few hours.

Amen listened for a moment, then headed for a barracks at random. She stepped inside, and blinked, letting her eyes adjust to the relative dimness. Here was quite a gathering. She offered a smile to the few who glanced up at her entry.

Myth entered behind Amen, thrilling at the wave of cold air as he stepped inside. "Ooh! Yes! Beloved sub-nineties."

Kara had been sitting on one of the bunks. Some other kids had been talking together, but she hadn't joined in. Myth walked in with his sister, Amen, so she went over to them. "Hey guys."

Myth smiled. "Hey. I forgot to ask you, what'd you bring along?"

She shrugged. "Not much. Just the bare essentials as they say ... Well, okay, I also brought some books on data chips. Classic literature and all." She grinned. "I won't leave Earth without my books!"

Myth nodded. "Me, I went for the manuals." He pointed to his slightly bulging pockets. "How to survive in wilderness, how to build spaceships, that sort of thing. I spent almost all my money on soft manuals." He paused. "I guess we won't need money where we're going ..."

Kara looked doubtful. "I don't know if they'll let you take all that stuff ..." She then displayed the necklace of data chips she wore. "It seems to be a pretty popular method. They're being really strict about how much stuff we can take."

Myth looked around, saw the girl reading on the top bunk, and smiled. He tried to catch the title, but couldn't, quite. Well, he hoped it wasn't a classic. Any overlap would be a waste. He turned his attention back to Kara.

"They said, 'fit it in a pocket' ... well, my stuff isn't any bigger than a pocket." Myth nudged Amen. "You're awfully quiet. What's eating you?"

She shook herself out of her reverie. "I dunno ... something about it isn't really ... real yet, you know?"

Kara smiled slightly, but her heart wasn't in it. "Yeah. I know what you mean."

Myth started, and then pointed quickly, speaking in a hushed tone. "Is that Yago over there?"

"Where?" Kara looked around. She had heard the President's son was supposed to be coming on the Mayflower, but couldn't quite believe it. Rumors about this sort of thing flew fast and furious.

He pointed through the window, to another window on another building. "There, in the ... I guess it's a cafeteria, although what kind of food they're eating, I dunno. Do you see him? At that table, there."

Kara looked to where he was pointing. "Yeah, I guess that's probably him. Although, I'm not entirely sure. I never did pay much attention to politics and related information."

Myth nodded decisively. "That's him. My parents are reporters, remember? And the girl there ... call me a blue-footed booby if it isn't England's prime minister's daughter!"

Kara looked more closely at the boy and the others at his table. "If you ask me, he's just enjoying all the attention. I think he couldn't care less about the world ending." Inwardly, she felt slightly ashamed at the cynicism in her voice, but couldn't help it. The way Yago was acting, it was obvious.

Myth grinned. He could always find something to smile about ... almost always. "You can tell that from halfway across a compound, through two dirty windows? Let's go over there!"

"I can tell that!" she said defensively. "It's really quite obvious. Well, to me."

"Well, not to me. Come on! Even if you don't like the First Son, don't you want to meet the Prime Daughter?" Myth pulled open the door. "Coming, Aim?"

She shook her head. "Nah, I'm going to get some reading done ... maybe talk to some of the staff, you know."

Myth nodded. "That's fine. Let's go."

Kara sighed. "I guess I'll go over there, but I'm going to say right here and now that I don't like him. There's just something about him ..." She trailed off and noticed with a twinge of embarrassment that she was staring at Yago and that Myth had already left. She hurriedly followed him to the cafeteria.

Yago glanced up. He had a feeling he was being stared at. A boy and a girl. He grinned. More fans. He was going to get those kids who had attacked him earlier back if he had to get the whole ship on his side. He waved and smiled fakely to try to get them to come over.

Ruby watched as Yago smile at two people. She could tell the smile was fake, but didn't know if she should mention it or not.

Calee also saw Yago wave at someone, and turned to see two teens heading towards their table. Great. More people.

Yago watched with satisfaction as the two kids hurried over. Oh yeah, he was good.

Sky looked up at his dad, who glanced over. Which meant he had to go. He looked at the others sorrowfully. "I gotta go guys, but I'll see you around?"

Calee stood up. "Are you sure, Sky?"

Yago was upset at this, but nodded. That was okay, he'd win Sky over later.

Sky gave Calee's hand a squeeze. "Find me later. We can talk."

She nodded. At least Angel was here. "Okay," she said.

"Bye Sky!" Angel called after him.

Logan nodded at his son, then turned to Madison. "I have to go too. I'll search you out later."

"Bye, thanks for believing in me," Madison said. "It means a lot, Logan, more than you'll ever know."

Sky waved at Angel and Logan nodded at Madison. Then the two were gone.

Calee suddenly felt uncomfortable around all this people. They seemed ... off. "I'm going to go sleep," she said, her comment directed at Angel. "Bye."

Yago looked at the girls and realized there was no one here important to talk to other then Angel. He glanced at his watch. And now he had to go.

He turned to Angel with one last fleeting grin. "Sorry Angel, my time's up, too. I am sure I'll see you later, though?" He phrased the last part as a question.

"Goodnight, CosmAstra." Angel turned to Yago. "Sure, Yago."

Calee nodded, then walked back upstairs to her bunk, feeling strangely empty.

Madison drank her water alone. Maybe she should talk to Mark before they got on the Mayflower. She then saw Calee walking by herself and caught up to her. If she couldn't reconcile with Sky, maybe she could with Calee.

Unfortunately, Calee wasn't as anxious to see Madison. Madison decided not to make things worse than they already were and went back downstairs. She saw a real red-head eating. The girl was probably half her age, but she desperately wanted to talk to someone.

"Hey kid, how are ya doing?"

Ruby pushed her food to the other end of the table, full. Then a lady started talking to her. She looked at the lady. "Okay, I guess ..." she said, a little worried she might be somewhat like her parents, but didn't see it in the lady's eyes.

Madison took a seat across from the girl. "My name is Madison, but most people just call me crazy," she said with a laugh.

Ruby just gave a small smile. "Why would people call you crazy?"

Madison figured there was no use hiding who she really was. The girl would eventually find out. "Because my sole purpose in life is to unveil secret government conspiracies. And some of them sound more fiction than fact." Madison took another sip of her water.

"Like what?" Ruby asked, hoping not to be too personal. "I won't call you crazy ..."

"Okay, I'll tell you. I think that there are government signals going to people's brains. I wear an aluminum suit to protect me. You'll rarely see me without a hood on. I use it to cover up the suit."

Ruby nodded. "I don't think that's crazy ... I never did like the government."

Madison put her cup down and looked up at the kid. "You don't? Wow, another believer. Most people push me aside saying I'm crazy, but I keep persisting. I do everything I can to protect people from the government infringing on their rights. And what's the thanks I get? My only friend says I need to see a doctor."

"I don't think you need to see a doctor. Even though it may seem like it's impossible, doesn't mean it is to the government ..."

Madison gave a small laugh. Ruby was great! Finally, someone who didn't trust the government as much as she did. Well, and Mark. But Mark had said that she was crazy and this kid didn't. "It sounds like we are going to get along just fine. So, what made you turn on the government?"

"A various amount of things. I sensed something was ... bad when I first heard of them." Ruby said and bit her lip. She had just told Madison her talent ... but then again, Madison had told her about what she did ... also, she didn't think Madison actually knew her talent, even though she said it.

"Really? What sort of things? I remember once I broke into a building to find out if they were sending subliminal messages to people's personal links. I had to go through the air ducts, but I was moving too slow. I broke into the lounge and drenched myself in vegetable oil so I could slide around." Madison started laughing out loud at this memory. It didn't exactly show her stealth.

Ruby smiled. "Not really ... things in non-fiction books ... newspapers, definitely newspapers ... and I know they try to cover up the things they do, but I can see through it." She paused. "I haven't been able to tell anyone these things ..."

"Neither have I. Well, other than my former accomplice. But hey, the world is coming to an end, what do we have to lose? For the first time in my life, I feel free. The government is going to blow up with the world." She looked right at Ruby. "You must be very special. A lot of people can't see through the government's clever disguise."

Ruby smiled modestly. "No one's ever said I was special. Then again, no one's ever said anything nice to me ..." She paused and looked downward, took a breath, then looked back up at Madison. "Sorry."

Madison could sense that this kid was a loner. The way she talked about no one saying anything nice clinched it. "I don't have any one really close to me, either. I never let them get close because I thought they might have worked with the government. I didn't even get close to my own parents. I have never felt love for anyone or anything. Now that the world is ending, I don't know whether I should be grateful that I am not losing anything I love, or regretful that I have never loved."

"I think it's better not to have loved ... in this situation ... but we're talking about short time here ... if you feel like you want to change if we survive this, you can. It's like starting over ... for most people ... Also people who have loved and are loosing their loved ones ... there are some that go through insanity ... any way, it's that person's choice if they love or not. From what I know of ... whatever." She just looked at the ground again.

Madison was shocked about how much she was telling Ruby. It suddenly hit her that this young lady was Madison at that age. She remembered how much it hurt when people pushed her aside, saying she was crazy. Madison lifted Ruby's chin and looked her right in the eye. "You are right Ruby, we are starting over. There will be only us, no government. We'll be friends through all of it, okay? You don't have to be alone anymore. You're a good kid. Think of it as the ultimate Survivor. We need allies on this trip. You in?"

Suddenly Ruby saw her parents coming. "Don't let them take me away," she said to Madison.

"Hey, honey," Ruby's dad said. He glanced at the lady with his daughter. "Carina, come with us please. We would like to talk with you and have some ... family time." He smiled a fake smile.

Ruby looked at Madison for help.

"Actually Ruby and I were about to go to my bunk," Madison said smoothly. "She wants to see my journal. Surely you must agree that it is important to meet your fellow ship mates?"

Ruby's father just nodded, while inside he was very, very angry. "Sure," he said. He smiled another fake smile at Ruby. "Go have fun."

"Let's go, I'll show you where my bunk is," Madison said.

Ruby smiled at Madison. "Okay." She lowered her voice. "Thanks for getting me out of that."

"No problem, I think you'll like my journal anyway. I put every conspiracy I come across in there."

Ruby smiled again. "I will so hate the government by the time we leave."

Madison laughed at that. She made a reminder to herself to ask about Ruby's relationship with her parents. Not now, though.

Ruby asked Madison as they walked to her bunk if they would be against Yago since they were allies. "Definitely," Madison replied. "He is the president's son. I heard rumors that England's Prime Minister's daughter is here too. She has been seen talking to Yago. I don't trust people in high positions. To put it simply, they are corrupt. Ally wise, it is me, you, and my friend Mark. I think. We had a fight earlier. He said I was crazy and needed a doctor, but I suppose I already told you that." Ruby just nodded as Madison handed her the journal. "Here, you can borrow this tonight. Don't lose it though, my life's work is in there."

Ruby smiled. "I promise I'll guard it with my life," she said as she took the journal.

Madison saw the empty bunk below her. Maybe Ruby knew something about CosmAstra that she didn't. "So, Ruby, have you heard anything about a girl named CosmAstra? She is about your age."

"I met her ... that's about it."

"Did you like her? She doesn't like me much. I think she is very easily influenced right now by a guy named Sky. I don't like him either, he called me a lunatic. His father is kind, though."

"I can't say if I like her or not. We haven't talked at all."

"Actually, I think I see them coming now. Let's go to somewhere more secluded, if there is such a place here."

Ruby smiled a little. "Yeah." She started to look around for someplace.

As they walked, Madison grew more curious about this girl. Why didn't she like her parents? Well, there was only one way to find out. "Ruby, please don't take this the wrong way, but why don't you want to spend the last few days with your parents? Why do you want to spend it with a complete stranger?"

"I don't want to be anywhere with my parents. It's nothing but lies." Ruby took a deep breath. "When they're with other people they pretend that they love me, but when we're alone ..." She felt like crying, but she told herself not to, after all, she was used to this. "Probably the only reason they are taking me at all on this is just an act. An act that they love me."

Madison put her arm around Ruby to give her a little comfort. "If you like, I'll stay with you. You won't have to face them alone. Anyway, it would be difficult to find any solitude here."

Ruby nodded. "I know they wouldn't act the way they want to me, but it hurts more when they act like they love you, and you know it's not true. Anyway, I don't know why I'm acting this way. I would have thought by now I would be used to it ..." Ruby just gave a small smile, thinking about something. Then voicing her thoughts, she said, "Maybe it's because I'm just going through some teenage stuff." Ruby lifted her head to look at Madison. "Thank you for listening, I mean really listening. My parents never do that."

Madison smiled at her. "No problem, what are friends for?"

Ruby smiled. "Friends," she repeated. She never had any friends before. Ruby bit her bottom lip. "I have to admit ... when my dad saw that I was talking to you, I didn't know what he would do ... I mean, what if he did find a secluded place? I mean, my parents never beat me, but ..." She left it hanging, not knowing if she had enough strength to go on. 

She took a deep breath. "But ... well, the words would hurt themselves, but I don't know what would push my dad over the edge. I think he just wants me to suffer as badly as I could ... and when he saw I had a friend ... I could tell in his eyes he was more angrier than usual. I had absolutely no idea what he was thinking of doing ..."

Madison felt her hand clench. To choose not to have friends is one thing, but to keep your children from having friends is another. "I promise, I won't leave you alone. Even if I have to sleep on the floor next to you, I won't leave you alone."

Ruby smiled, stopped walking and hugged Madison. "My parents are on the bottom, I'm on the top." They took a seat on some unoccupied bunks and continued their talk about whether it really is better to have love and lost than to have never loved at all.


	17. Chapter 17

****

Chapter 17

"Life isn't about worrying about the past. It's about moving on to the future."

Sky walked down the hall silently, looking for Madison. He felt bad. He wished he was like his dad, who was never mean to people. He finally found her sitting on a bed with another girl, Ruby, who he had briefly met earlier. "Uh, hi."

"I thought you wanted me to leave you alone," Madison said. Sky looked down, embarrassed.

"Yeah, sorry about that. I was being a jerk. I just didn't want Calee to get hurt," he said sheepishly. He looked at Madison sincerely. "Any way you can forgive me?" 

Madison gave a small laugh. She realized that she was laughing more that day than she had her entire life. "Sure, take a seat. This is Ruby."

Sky nodded. "We met earlier," he said, giving Ruby a grin.

"We were just talking about your father's philosophy," Madison said. "Is it better to have love and lost than to have never loved at all?"

Sky flushed red. He was a teenager talking to women about love. This was every boy's nightmare. He shrugged uncomfortably. "I think so. You should never just let life pass you by because you're afraid of getting hurt."

Madison disagreed. "A lot of people are getting hurt, though."

"The ones who don't aren't having any fun," Sky replied.

"I don't know, I've had some fun in my day," Madison said, still not sold on Sky's argument.

Sky glanced at Ruby trying to get the heat off of himself. "What do you think?"

"I think in this situation, it would have been better not to have loved. People are leaving loved ones here and know they won't have a chance to live. Some people may never get through that," Ruby said sincerely. 

Sky shook his head. "No way. I'm leaving my grandpa, but I know I am more happy to have known him, heard all his awesome stories, gone fishing with him, than just to have never known him at all to spare myself the hurt I'm feeling right now." 

"Yeah, but he was close to his time anyway. Put yourself in Calee's situation. She has to leave behind her parents," Madison contradicted.

"Not everyone can do that." Ruby fell silent.

"Life isn't about worrying about the past. It's about moving on to the future," Madison added.

Sky nodded. "Yeah I know, she's doesn't have it good. But I can bet money she wouldn't trade having known her father even to take the pain away."

"You guys want to know the truth?" Madison said, then without waiting for an answer, she continued. "The Rock is the best thing to ever happen to me. I've never been happier, I can almost grasp my freedom."

Ruby was still silent from her previous talk with Madison, but what she said about the Rock snapped her out of it.

Sky shook his head. "Wow. To me that's just so screwed up. Billions of people are dying. How can you say its the best thing that ever happened to you?" 

Ruby smiled. She knew.

"If it were up to me, I wouldn't want the Rock because of all the people. But it isn't up to me. And I am going to make the best of this situation. The government will be blown up with the people. Humanity will be pure again. We can start all over. There is so much wrong with the world now, but we can wipe a clean slate and start anew," Madison said with passion.

"It won't be long if we survive before a government will begin once more." Sky replied. "Do you understand the reason behind the government? To bring order to our nation. People cannot live without a ruler, or rules, to govern themselves by. Without it, our world is chaos. What we should all hope for is no more politics, that is where the government went wrong." Sky stopped then a bit self consciously. He sounded like a politician himself. He winced. "Sorry."

"It's okay, you're speaking your mind. That is important," Madison replied kindly. 

"Um ... guys ..." Ruby said, looking at Madison. "I may not be part of the conversation." She smiled at her and held up the journal a bit to motion to it for Madison. "I don't want to go back to my parents so I'll just be quiet over here."

Sky watch Ruby go and looked at Madison with worry. "Did I say something to offend her?"

"No, she is a loner. I'm going to get my book and join her. I've learned something in these past few days: No one should ever be alone."

Sky nodded. "Okay. Look, I really am sorry about earlier, okay? I promise not to act like a jerk anymore!" Sky said, getting off the bed, then glancing down at Madison. "I'll see you around."

Becca had never liked flying, but with all that was happening, the flight from Boston to Florida was a piece of cake. She stepped off the plain at the tiny airport she had been flown to. This morning, in Massachusetts, it had been cool. Here in Florida it was disgustingly humid. 

She was driven to a dingy-looking old barracks, one of the last to arrive. She had brought little. A change of clothes, her pocket computer, and the picture of herself as a baby with her parents.

Sky walked down the hall after his conversation with Madison, bored, looking for something to do or someone to talk to. He spotted a girl who looked only a bit older than him by herself and waved. "Hey, what's up?" 

Becca looked up from where she had been sitting, startled. "Oh. Hi."

"Yeah, it's pretty boring here, isn't it? What were you doing?" Sky asked, settling himself in to talk, whether the girl wanted to or not. 

"Oh ... I, I just got here. It's not so bad, I guess."

Sky nodded. "Yeah, it's sorta cool, I've met a lot of nice people, but still, I'll be relieved when we get going." 

Becca shrugged. "I don't really care. It's no better or worse than what I left." 

"Where did you live?" Sky asked curiously. 

"Massachusetts. But I don't have any family." 

"Oh, I'm sorry, I guess that would suck. I have my whole family with me. It's pretty cool. You should meet Madison. You remind me of her ... except not so paranoid ..." Sky said.

"Well ... I would hope I'm not paranoid." Becca replied wryly. 

Sky grinned. "I guess, but actually, paranoia makes for a very interesting person." 

"If I was paranoid, I'd worry that all the places I hacked into over the years were after me and out to get me."

Sky looked at her with interest. "A hacker? Cool. Different. I'm about as computer illiterate as they get ..." 

"Oh. Well you name it, I've hacked into it," Becca answered nonchalantly. 

"Cool, that's really awesome. How did you get here if you're all alone? What, hack into computers and blackmail them?" he asked, joking.

"Well, I did hack into NASA, and that's how I found out," Becca admitted. "But I didn't blackmail them. I wouldn't have said anything. But they practically begged me to take a berth. Maybe they wanted me here, where there wasn't a chance of me telling anyone that didn't already know." 

Sky sat back. "Wow, that's the best story I've heard so far of how someone got onto this ship ... Everybody else is either sad or boring. Like mine, all that happened with me, is my mom talked my dad's boss into letting us on ... everybody else seems to have a story though." He shrugged. "Guess I'm just common." 

"I haven't really talked to anyone here yet, besides you."

"Really, I have talked to like a bunch of people. Guess you got here at the wrong time. Hey, I know, next time we got to eat, you can come sit with me, I'll introduce you to some people," Sky suggested, his eyes brightening. 

"Okay, sure." At least Becca would know some of the people that would be on the ship with her, then.

Sky glanced at his watch. "Wow, this was more fun than I was expecting to have, but I gotta go now. So, tomorrow, we can talk right?" 

Becca nodded. "Okay, sure. At breakfast."

Sky grinned and said, "Great," flashing a smile. "See you tomorrow morning, bright and early!" 

"Okay then. Bye." Becca replied.

"Later!" Sky said with a wave, then headed out to find his family.


	18. Chapter 18

*** Days Until Impact: 2 ***

****

Chapter 18

"What does everyone do around here during the day, anyway?"

Kara entered the noisy, makeshift cafeteria and walked to the end of the line to get her food. She looked around the crowded place. Men, women, and children, were all crammed together like a herd of frightened sheep. No one seemed to have any idea of what was going on, they just obeyed orders and meandered about. Many of the teenagers, starved for some resemblance to normality, clustered into groups and created strained conversations.

The line moved fairly quickly; the workers just wanted to get everyone fed and move them along as hurriedly as possible. Kara was given a plateful of something that looked like it might be chicken, green beans, and mashed potatoes. Then again, it might have been leather, shoe laces, and flour paste. It was hard to tell which. 

She got a glass of soda and some silverware, then sat down at one of the tables, staring hard at the 'food.' The longer she stared, the less she could manage to bring herself around to eating it. She picked the plate up with a slight groan, stood up, and walked back into the main barracks.

For the first time, Kara looked around at the bunks and clusters of people, taking notice of faces and individuals, instead of just more people wandering about looking lost. She walked slowly toward her own bunk, imagining what the lives of those people might have been like were it not for the Rock. *But I guess we'll never know,* she thought. 

Calee walked back upstairs to her bunk, feeling strangely empty. The Eighty were scattered around the barracks building, but most of them were downstairs. No one wanted to talk, yet everyone felt the need to be around other people. Calee had the same urge, but Sky was gone. She knew no one else. 

Once again, her thoughts got her into trouble. Not watching where she was going, she slammed into another body. 

"I'm sorry!" she cried out instantly. It was a girl, about her age. She had made her drop her food. Dropping to her knees, she helped the girl pick up her useless food. "I'm really sorry, I didn't mean to, I just wasn't watching where I was going."

Kara smiled. "That's okay, I wasn't paying much attention either ... My name's Kara, by the way." 

She smiled back. "I'm CosmAstra." She paused, then added curiously, "Is Kara your real name, or a chosen name?" 

"My chosen name. My real name's Mackenzie, but I didn't really like it ... I chose Kara because I didn't want to have a really unusual name or anything. I wanted it to seem normal." 

She nodded. "Ah, that's cool." She paused then, unsure of what to say. Finally, she couldn't resist asking the question: "Are you here with your family?"

Kara looked almost wistful for a split-second, thinking of wishes and what-ifs that would never occur. But she pushed them out of her mind as quickly as possible. She smiled and nodded. "My mom."

Calee nodded. "That's great. What about your father?" 

Kara paused a second before speaking, trying to maintain her composure. "He, um ..." Her voice quaked a bit and she cleared her throat, then went on. "He decided to stay. My parents both worked on the Mayflower project, and NASA needs him at Mission Control. He couldn't come."

Calee's heart wrenched. Here was another girl who was going through the exact same thing she was. On impulse, she pulled Kara into a hug. "I know how you feel," she said, and then pulled away, slightly embarrassed at her outburst. 

Kara smiled weakly, blinking back tears. She took a deep breath. "Yeah ... So, anyway," she said, hoping to change the subject. "How did you find out about all this? You know, the Mayflower, the Rock." 

"My dad's CIA," she answered. "I'm not sure how he found the files, but he kept them a secret from anyone else in his department. That's how he got a berth for me." 

Kara nodded. "Like I said, my parents both worked for NASA. My mom was one of the engineers assigned to working on the Mayflower. I think she had to oversee the installation of the solar sails and stuff. They've known about this for a couple weeks, but I just found out about it a few days ago." 

Calee smiled. "NASA ... did you ever see a shuttle launch before? I want to be an astronaut. Well ... wanted, I guess." 

"I've seen a couple," she said slowly. Partly because of her house's proximity to the Kennedy Space Center and partly because of her parents' work, she'd seen many launches, but didn't want to brag. "I've never been too fond of space travel ... My mom says I'm really cautious, space travel's just too uncertain for my tastes." 

Calee smiled. "That's part of the fun, to me." She looked down. "I guess I'm getting my chance to go into space ... not as exciting as I thought it would be, huh?" she tried to joke. 

"I guess so," Kara answered quietly. 

Calee felt that this meeting wasn't going very well for either of them. Both girls were missing their fathers too much, and didn't really want to carry on a conversation. Sighing softly, Calee admitted to herself that all she wanted to do was sleep. "I guess I'll see you around then, okay?" she said softly to Kara. 

Kara smiled. "Yeah. Tomorrow, after we get some sleep ..."

Calee nodded. "Bye, Kara."

"Bye CosmAstra."

That night was strange and spooky. Calee would dose off, only to be awakened by someone talking in their sleep or the sound of roaches. She clutched at her necklace of data chips, their coolness comforting in her hand. Finally, she was able to sleep. 

She woke up later than some, which was expected. She had a very mild jet lag, not as sever as some of the others did. After washing up and pulling on a new T-shirt, she went downstairs to get breakfast. Tiny pancakes and sausage. The sausage didn't really bother her--she didn't have a problem with *looking* at meat, just with eating it. She pushed it over to the other side of her tray and began eating her pancakes. 

Sky got up tiredly, running a hand through his curls, and jumped off the top bed. He felt his stomach grumble and jogged to the cafeteria, loading his plate down with food. He then spotted Calee and went to sit next to her. 

"Hey."

Becca hardly slept at all that night. She had never been very good at sleeping in strange places. When morning finally came, she quickly dressed and went downstairs to eat. She took a tray and walked over to the long table. 

Calee smiled a little bit at Sky. "Hey yourself." Turning, she saw a girl a year or two older than her sit next to them. "Hi," she said.

"Hi," Becca said. She rubbed her eyes tiredly and sat down. 

Calee nodded sympathetically. "I don't think anyone could sleep last night." 

"I never sleep so good in strange places. And this was even worse." Becca took a bite out of her pancake and grimaced. "What did they make this out of? Cement mix?"

Sky grinned. "Hey, I like it!" 

Calee rolled her eyes at him. "You would." 

"At least someone does." Becca pushed her tray a bit away. "I don't really feel like eating right now, anyway." 

Calee nodded sympathetically. "I don't either, but we need to keep our strength up for the g's we'll feel." 

"Even dorm food was good next to this," Becca continued. 

"You go to college?" she asked. The girl couldn't be much older than Calee. But then again, Calee took college courses, too. 

"You girls are insane, I mean sure, it's not as good as my mom's food, but it's better than my dad's!" Sky said, digging into his food. "Wait, why do you take college courses? How old are you?" 

Calee laughed. Apparently Sky was a morning person. 

"I'm seventeen," Rebecca answered. "I skipped a grade, so I'm a college freshman." 

"Cool," Calee said. "Where do you go?" 

Becca searched her pockets. "Ah, I knew I had this is here somewhere." She unwrapped the candy bar and took a bite. "MIT." 

Calee gasped. "Oh, wow, really? I wanted to go to MIT when I got older. I know it's hard there." 

"I guess it would be hard for some people. Wasn't very hard for me." 

Sky shrugged. "I don't know what you're talking about, but this works good for me, cause now, I'll have someone to tutor me if we ever have to go back to school! Never get kicked off the soccer team again ..." 

Becca finished the candy bar. "Well, that was much better than those awful pancakes." 

Calee looked at her almost finished pancakes. "Yeah, they have too much flour in them." 

Sky shook his head again. "Look, if you don't want them, I'll take them. These pancakes rule." 

Becca pushed her tray in Sky's direction. "Enjoy. I finished my work so quickly, I had too much free time. Although I suppose that's good. I wouldn't be here if it weren't for that." 

Sky had already heard the story, and he nodded. 

Calee felt herself completely in awe of this person. She was doing the things Calee had wanted to do in two years. "How did you find out?" she asked, ignoring Sky's inhalation of the pancakes. 

"In my free time, well ... I would hack into different places," Becca explained. "Like the FBI and NASA. I wasn't really that interested in what was there. I just wanted to practice my hacking skills. So I hacked into NASA one day, and I found out about ... well, all this. I'm still kinda embarrassed that they caught me. I guess I was too much in shock to keep hiding that I was in. And they called me, and told me if I kept quiet I could have a berth, and so I agreed. I might have thought more about it, if I was leaving anyone behind. But I'm not. There's no one I'm leaving behind." 

Sky nodded. "Yep, she's a genius, I'm a jock ..." He looked to Becca, then to Calee. "You two haven't yet been introduced? Sorry, Becca, this is CosmAstra, CosmAstra, Becca." 

"I feel like I'm the only person here who still is using their birth name," Becca said. "I probably am." 

"There's the adults," Calee pointed out. 

"Okay, so the only teenager, then," Becca said. "But I did keep it for a reason." 

"Why?" asked Sky. 

"Well, my parents died when I was a baby, too young to remember them," Becca explained quietly. "I guess keeping the name they gave me makes me feel like I have something of them." 

Calee nodded. "I know how you feel. My mom died when I was little." 

"I'm sorry." 

"Me too." 

"My great-aunt raised me. But ... she died, too. Not too long ago." 

Sky felt a bit uncomfortable with the sadness that seemed to be floating around the topic, so he grinned, trying to switch subjects. "Hey, either of you play soccer?" 

"I'm not exactly very athletic," Becca said. "When I was in school, I was ALWAYS picked last for the teams in gym." 

"I played once when I was little," Calee said, remembering. "I stopped when I made a goal for the other team." 

Becca gave a small giggle. "I'm sure that went over well." 

Calee grinned back. "Not for the team, no. My dad didn't care, though. He didn't care if I won or lost, he just liked to see me play." 

"Is he here?" she asked. 

"No," she said, and shocked herself with the fact that her voice *didn't* quiver. "No, he couldn't get a berth." 

"I'm sorry. I feel kinda guilty that I'm leaving no one I care about." 

"But you're kind of lucky, in a way," Calee pointed out. "Sky feels the same way--his whole family is here." 

"He still must worry that something might happen to one of them." Becca looked down. "All I have to worry about is myself. It's kinda lonely sometimes." 

Calee smiled at her and touched her hand. "You're not alone anymore." 

"I haven't had a friend in a long time. That means a lot, to have one." Taking a breath, she changed the subject. "So, you wanted to go to MIT?" 

Calee nodded. "Yup. I wanted to become an astronaut." 

"Well, you're braver than I am. But here, take a look." Becca took out her pocket computer. "I have all my notes and assignments and reports and stuff on here. Go ahead and look through, if you want. I even have downloaded textbooks."

Calee took the computer eagerly. "Oh, wow," she breathed. "Thank you, Becca!" 

She smiled. "I guess this must be kinda exciting for you. Getting to go into space and all. Although I'm sure you wished for different circumstances." 

Calee nodded somberly. "Yeah. If I had to make the choice, I would stay on Earth if it meant everyone would live." 

"I'm really scared about this. The closest I would have gotten to space was some kind of desk job at NASA."

Sky had been listening quietly, and finally responded. "I think I always wanted to fly, but not into space, more like through the clouds, this will be cool too, though."

"I never even liked flying. It always scared me," Becca said. 

"Take-off isn't really like flying," Calee said. 

"But the feeling of freedom ..." Sky said, with his eyes shining. 

"You're lucky, then." 

"Space takeoff seriously isn't like flying takeoff at all, though," Calee repeated. "It's very different." 

Becca shuddered. "I bet it's worse, then." 

"Well, what is it about flying that scares you?" she asked curiously. 

Becca made a face. "Promise you won't laugh?" 

Calee raised her hand. "Astronaut's honor." 

Sky nodded. "Yeah, what she said." 

"Okay, I am terrified of crashing," Becca said, staring down at the table. 

"Really? You know there's not much of a chance of that," Sky said. 

"I know, but it terrifies me. Not as much as fire, though. I guess I'm just a very ... scared person." 

Calee smiled. "That's okay. Everyone's afraid of something. There's nothing to be ashamed of." 

"At least I won't be awake when the ship takes off, right?" 

She frowned. "I'm not sure. We might be going under during take-off." 

"I'm gonna be!" Sky said proudly. "I plan on not taking whatever it is to make you sleep, so I can be awake." 

Becca shuddered. "Oh ..." 

Calee raised an eyebrow. "Are you crazy?" 

"I think so. I mean, anyone that can eat this slop is crazy, right?" Becca grinned. "He definitely is crazy." 

Calee grinned back. "Oh yeah." 

"Hey!" Sky said, looking wounded. "I'm not crazy!" he insisted. "Just ... special!" 

"Oh, we're just teasing!" Becca said "Haha." 

Sky grinned. "Yeah, I know you are teasing. But I think anybody who could pass up a good meal is crazy." 

"I guess good is the operative word there," Calee said. 

"Exactly," Becca said with a grin. "Of course, I did have a good meal. My delicious candy bar!" 

Sky grinned. "I don't eat candy. My dad calls me a health food nut, but ya know, all that junk is bad for my growing body right?" 

"But it tastes sooo good!" Becca exclaimed. 

"I've had to cut down on it, but I love junk," Calee admitted. 

"All I eat at college is junk food, practically. The food there is bad. Although it's actually not that terrible compared to this. If you knew how much junk food I eat, you'd really be shocked that I'm skinny," Becca said with a grin. 

Sky shook his head. "I used to love junk food, but my soccer coach told us all to lay off, and I did. No, I can't stand it!" 

"I truly pity you. You poor thing, unable to stand junk food." 

"What is it with you and soccer, anyway?" Calee asked. 

Sky shrugged. "It's just my nook. You know, my mom and dad are super scientists. I like flying and soccer, and I'm good at soccer." 

"This is horribly sad," Becca said in a tragic voice. 

Sky grinned (again). "Ah, it's not so bad, you should try it." 

"No junk food? Forget it! Besides, I spend an hour a day in the fitness center on the machines. Or at least I did ..." 

Calee looked out the window. "I wonder what it's going to be like wherever we're going." 

"I wish there was another planet out there just like this one we could go to," Becca said wishfully. "But as long as it's not an ice planet I guess we'll manage." 

Sky shook his head. "You guys are joking right? Adventure of a life time. As long as they have a sky and a soccer field, it'll be great."

Becca giggled. "You and your soccer." 

Calee, though, shook her head solemnly. "No, Sky. We might not even survive, and there might not be a planet where we're going at all. Our odds aren't much better than everyone else's." 

"Sure, and we might all turn into clowns, we might all kill each other, there's a lot of things we could do, you gotta look at the bright side though," Sky said. 

"Clowns?" Becca rolled her eyes. "You ARE insane." 

Calee didn't say anything, just looked down at her empty tray of pancakes, thinking of the possibilities. 

"Sky is kinda right though. We should try to think positively ... and now I sound like a self-help book," Becca said with a grimace. 

Sky finished eating and glanced up. "Yeah, those books rule!" 

Becca turned to Calee. "Is he always like this?" 

Calee shrugged at Becca. "I only met him a couple of days ago, you got me." 

"I kinda wish I had an optimistic attitude like he does," Becca said. 

Sky nodded. "Yep, okay, I'm insane, let's go with that thought. I am done eating, so, uh, I'll talk to you later, Becca."

"What does everyone do around here during the day, anyway?" asked Becca. 

Calee shrugged. "Wait for the end," she said, only a trace of bitterness in her voice.

"Oh ... I'm sorry." 

Calee sighed. "No, I'm sorry. My bad mood is ruining the day. Please, just ignore me."

Becca turned on her pocket computer and started to play a mindless card game. "Oh, it's okay. Not much of a day to be ruined, anyway." Becca sighed. "Great, I can't even win at a lousy game like Solitaire." 

"Sorry," Calee said, then stood. 

Becca picked up her tray. "Well, I'm going to go drop this off. See you guys later." 

"Bye Becca," Calee and Sky both said.


	19. Chapter 19

****

Chapter 19

"You have to hide, like I do."

Lizzie Marshall sat on her top bunk, hoping Brent wouldn't come back soon. She refused to call him her father. She wished her mother was still alive, but what could you do? 

Brent had told her to stay here. Lizzie was debating whether or not to follow his order.

Yago walked down the hall quietly. He needed to talk to Brent Marshall. He walked over to where he should be staying and found his daughter ... what was the brat's name again? "Hey, little girl, do you know where your dad is?" 

Lizzie sat up at looked at him carefully. "No, sorry. He'll be back soon, though," she said politely. 

Yago shook his head. Kids were of no use these days. Just then, Brent came strolling down the hall. Yago smiled. "I was just talking to your daughter, she said you were gone." 

Brent gave Lizzie a swift slap. "Brat!" 

The slap was hard enough to make her fall backwards on her bed. "You were!" she called, despite herself. 

Brent glared dangerously. "Do not get fresh with me, child. Your mother taught you no respect. She was worthless, too." 

"You're not worth respecting!" Lizzie screamed, not caring who heard her. "My mother was better than you'll ever me!" With that, she launched herself from her bunk and was scratching her father. 

Brent threw her down easily then kicked her in the side. "Worthless little brat. I have half a mind to-" 

He was interrupted by Yago, who grabbed his hand with a smirk. "Brent, do keep your temper under control. We wouldn't the passengers to think you treat your daughter bad, it would not do good for your image ..." 

Lizzie glared up at the two of them. The boy had seemed nice, but he was just like her father. 

Yago turned to Lizzie with an evil look glazing his eyes. "Plus, she may prove useful someday ..." 

*Yeah right,* Lizzie thought to herself. *I'd never help you.* But aloud, she said nothing. Might as well let him dream on. 

Tyler was looking for his brother Sky, but saw some guy throw a girl on the ground. "Hey!" he shouted, running up. "Leave her alone, dork!" 

Brent turned around and glared dangerously. He raised his hand threateningly, but was stopped again by Yago. "No, that won't work," he said under his breath. He turned to the kid. "Look, we were just playing." 

Tyler frowned, his small eyes switching back and forth between the man, the boy, and the girl. "Playing?"

Lizzie didn't argue with the idiot Yago, but quickly said, "Yes, playing. Daddy, can I go play with the little boy?" She batted her eyes, then stuck her tongue out so only Brent could see. 

Brent felt his temper rising once more, but just nodded and said, "Sure honey, here, take some money with you." He slapped her as hard as he could while making it look like he was just giving her money, then drawing her into a hug where he probably gave her bruises, as he was squeezing so hard. "Don't embarrass me, you brat," he said lowly to where only she could hear, then let her go. "Bye sweetie, have fun." 

Lizzie breathed deeply, making sure her ribs weren't broken, then shot one last glare at the two and ran off with the boy.

"My name's Tyler," he was saying. "That was a weird game you were playing with your dad. You wanna play tag with my and my sister? Her name's Rayley. She's ten."

Lizzie smiled. "Sure, Tyler. I'm Lizzie." 

Tyler grinned. "Okay, come on Lizzie. She can be moody at times, but only when she's trying to act 'mature.' You got any brothers or sisters? And where's your mom?" 

"My mom's dead," Lizzie said simply. "I don't have any other siblings ... I wish I didn't have to stay with my dad." 

Tyler nodded. "Yeah, your dad's weird. He's my dad's boss, but my dad doesn't like him. He said he's a cranky guy with something stuck up his butt." Tyler shrugged. "I don't know what that means, but you know, I don't think it's good." 

Lizzie giggled. "I guess not!" She glanced behind her unconsciously, though they were already out of sight. "I don't think he's up to any good ... and I don't like that boy he was with. He's like the President's son or something, but he acts ... oily." 

Tyler shrugged. "I dunno, my brother's been hanging out with him, he seems to think he's okay ... That really did seem weird the way your dad was doing that to you, my dad never plays with me like that. You sure he's supposed to do that?" 

Lizzie bit her lip. "Promise you won't tell anyone?" 

Tyler nodded solemnly. "I promise." 

Lizzie looked into his eyes as he said that. She believed him. "He's not supposed to do that," she said finally. "It's called beating ... he does it all the time, for no reason. I don't know why he's so mad at me, but I hate him back!" Lizzie lowered her voice even further. "I'm going to find out what he's planning, and I'm gonna tell everyone!" 

Tyler looked at her for a moment quietly. "Yeah, we should tell somebody. My dad could help!" 

"No way, Tyler!" she said instantly. "I don't want your dad getting fired or getting beat up like me. No, adults can't creep into little places. Brent thinks I'm an idiot, he doesn't suspect I'm smart." 

Tyler bit his lower lip as he often did when thinking. "We could tell my brother, Sky, he always knows what to do." 

Lizzie frowned, thinking this over. Her best friend back in Montana had an older brother. He was cool, he would always teach them new games and took care of Lizzie if her mom had to work late. "Okay, your brother will work. Where is he?" 

Tyler shrugged. "He's probably with some girl. He hangs out with girls all the time now. He's really weird, but he's really good at soccer!" he said, his eyes brightening. "I bet ya he's in the cafeteria, that's where they all go, in the cafeteria, I don't know why, they just do ..." 

"Boys are weird," Lizzie agreed, "especially older boys. C'mon, let's go to the cafeteria." 

Tyler nodded. "Okay, but let's go get Rayley first."

"Okay," Lizzie said. The two children walked over to Tyler's bunk.

Rayley looked down at Tyler. "Who's she?"

Tyler rolled his eyes. "Duh, a girl!"

Rayley shook her head. "I said who, not what."

Tyler looked down sheepishly. "Oh, uh, this is Lizzie."

"Hi," Lizzie said, and smiled. "Rayley, right?"

Rayley looked down at the little girl and squinted, then nodded as if she had met her satisfaction. "Okay, yeah, that's me, so what's up?"

"We gotta go find Sky!" Tyler said quickly, wanting to be talking again. 

"We need him because he can help us," Lizzie explained. "You can help too, if ya want." 

Tyler nodded, his eyes shining with excitement. "Yeah, this jerk was being mean to her and he's her dad, and we're gonna get Sky to get him back."

Rayley sat there for a minute. "What do you mean her dad is mean to her?" 

Lizzie lifted up part of her shirt to show a bruise on her side. It had been there for about a week. "He's just really mean. I wouldn't live with him if I didn't have to, but my mom died. And I'm going to find out what he's doing and tell everyone!" 

Tyler nodded. "Yeah! And I'm gonna help her!" 

Rayley looked undecided for a minute. "Are you sure we should?" 

Tyler nodded furiously, causing himself to get dizzy. "We can't tell the grown-ups, they won't believe us!" 

Rayley nodded. "Right, lets go!"

Rayley, Tyler, and Lizzie walked down the stairs and into the cafeteria area. It was pretty big; it had to seat the Eighty, and most of them were here. "Where is he?" Lizzie asked. 

Rayley spotted their brother first, sitting with his new friend. She walked over quickly with Tyler and Lizzie following. Tyler ran over and grabbed his arm. "Sky, this is Lizzie and she needs your help and Rayley agreed we should go to you cause she has a mean daddy and-" He stopped then, noticing Calee. "Uh, hi ..." he said, a bit shy. 

Sky grinned. "Tyler, Rayley, Lizzie, this is CosmAstra, my friend. Now, what's going on?" he asked with concern. 

Calee smiled at the three kids. She knew Tyler and Rayley were Sky's siblings from what he had told her. She wasn't sure who Lizzie was. "Yeah, you can tell us. Just take it slow." 

Lizzie paused. For a month all of this had been her secret. Now in the course of ten minutes, four other people were learning about it. It was almost a relief to share the burden, though. "My dad's mean. He hits me and stuff. I know he's planning something, something evil. I want to find out what and tell everyone. I'm going to get him back. But ... I can't find out. He always hits me and sends me away before he says anything interesting. So I guess I need some help." 

Sky turned to Calee in alarm then back to Lizzie. "He hits you?! You mean, like, he spanks you when you do something wrong?" he asked, not believing somebody could so something like beat a little girl like Lizzie. 

Lizzie shook her head. "I don't even do anything wrong. He hates me just because I'm there." 

Calee looked at Lizzie with a mixture of horror and pity, then looked at Sky. "We have to do something," she said in a low voice. "I don't care if the world is ending, this is inhuman!" 

Sky nodded at Calee then grinned easily at Lizzie, Tyler, and Rayley. "You guys did the right thing by telling me. I'll take care of it." 

Tyler grabbed onto Sky once more, and looked up at him with wide eyes. "But you can't tell Mom or Dad, cause I promised Lizzie I wouldn't, and so you can't." 

Sky shook his head. "I don't think you understand. We have to tell someone! We can get her dad put away." 

Lizzie started crying. "But you can't! He said if I told anyone he'd find some way to hurt me. And if he didn't, he'd get someone else to do it for him. I know he's not lying. All I can do is find out what he's planning so no one will ever listen to him and he can't get me!" 

She stopped talking and simply sobbed. Calee pulled her into her arms, then looked at Sky worriedly. "What do we do?" 

Sky looked at Lizzie crying and Tyler and Rayley both staring up at him expectantly. Okay. Okay, he could fix this. If no adults were allowed, he would just have to take things into his own hands. "What's your dad's name?" 

"Brent," she sniffed out. "Brent Marshall. You can't let him know you're onto him, or he'll do something to you, too. You have to hide, like I do." 

Sky wheeled back in surprise, as did Rayley. "Isn't that Dad's boss?" Rayley asked, almost in a whisper. 

Sky nodded grimly. "The one and only." He never had liked that man. This was awful. The worst possible person to have to bring down. "It's okay. Look, what we need is proof, right? Proof that he's up to no good, before The Mayflower goes off, because then he will be put off, and none of his guys will be able to get you up there." 

Lizzie considered this. "Yeah ... I guess so." 

"So what do you have in mind?" Calee asked. 

Sky bit his lower lip, the same way Tyler did, same way their mother did. "Okay, well. Obviously all of you kids can't be involved, it'll be too much danger. So me and CosmAstra will handle it. Lizzie, you'll need to tell us when we can do it. Then we will need you kids to keep look out. After that, if don't have anything on him, we'll need to search his bags, same drill. Now the question is, when ..." 

Tyler jumped up. "I know, how about we do it now!"

Rayley hit him on the head. "We can't do it now! Can we?" she said glancing at Sky.

Sky shook his head. "No, not now. Later, Lizzie can tell us when will be a good time." He turned to Calee. "You up for this?"

Calee nodded. "Definitely. Any man who hates his daughter does not deserve to go on this shuttle. Lizzie, I want to you take this link." She pulled out her old link, then tapped her new one. "You call me when we can put our plan in motion. Just say, 'Call CosmAstra' and it'll dial me up. Okay?" Lizzie nodded. 

Sky also nodded. "Okay, great, and CosmAstra is staying near us, so we'll know." He looked at Tyler, Rayley, and Lizzie. "Until then, all of you try to stay away from Mr. Marshall, even you Lizzie, hang out with us as much as you can, you're always welcome." 

"Thanks," Lizzie said. "Maybe Tyler, Rayley and I should go play now."

Tyler nodded. "Yeah, hide and seek!"

Rayley shook her head. "No, not hide and seek!"

Tyler looked up with confusion. "Why not, I love hide and seek, I always win."

"Which is exactly why I don't want to play it," Rayley said matter-of-factly, as they walked off arguing, with Lizzie following. 

Calee watched them leave with a smile, then turned to Sky. "Do you really think this will work?"

Sky shrugged. "I don't know, I hope so ..."

A loud commotion made them both look up. Everyone was gathering around a TV in the back of the cafeteria. "What's going on?" Calee wondered aloud. "Let's go check it out."

"Yeah, come on," he said. He grabbed her hand to make sure she followed, then led them both to the front of the crowd. A television was showing a whole city being wiped out, and people panicking. They showed one clip from a girl's link.

The clip was of her filming the disaster, and then dying. The newscaster was talking. "Scientists say it came out of nowhere, in a matter of days, we will all be dead." Then the program ended. 

A guy in the back cackled. He was old, the only old person Sky had seen in the entire barracks. "You realize what this means? Once people find out about the Mayflower, we are all going to be in danger. Hope all of you young folks are ready for it," he said and then looked directly at Sky.

Sky turned around, feeling uncomfortable. "Man ... that poor girl." 

Calee nodded sadly as the footage replayed again. "Yeah ... and poor Earth."


	20. Chapter 20

****

Chapter 20

"You know, for a paranoid chick, you're pretty deep."

After the broadcast, Sky parted ways with Calee. He wanted to tell his family. Sky shook his head. "Calee, I'm going to go tell my family. My dad would want to know." He looked at her with concern. "You going to be okay?" She smiled faintly and nodded, and he left.

Madison was still trying to convince Ruby to only eat MRE's. "Ruby, there is a good possibility that the food here has mind-controlling substances. I know that these MRE's are from the early 20th century, but it is not like they go bad. The older they are, the more pure they are. Trust me, they taste okay ... after awhile."

Ruby was still a little confused. "But I don't get it ... how can it be in food? I get the cell phone and head phone stuff ... but food? How?"

"Chemicals. Mind-controlling chemicals that the government developed so that it can use us to take over the universe. That was part of the reason why former President Bush decided the germ warfare treaty needed more 'revisions' in 2001. They wanted to slip it into food world wide and not be liable."

Ruby nodded. "Too much processed stuff, you're right, you never know what could be in them. And even if it's not mind-controlling stuff, it still may be bad." She paused. "What are the MREs? Like, what kind of foods?" Ruby asked after a while.

Sky looked around for his family, turning up nothing. He felt charged and wanted to tell somebody about it, so when he saw Madison and Ruby, he rushed over. "Hey, did you guys see the broadcast? They all know! A whole city was wiped out!"

"Are you crazy?" Madison asked. "There is no way I am getting close to a TV. The government signals and subliminal messages must be pouring from there."

Ruby's eyes got wide with the news. "How?" was all she could say. 

Sky shook his head. "There was nothing but a bunch of people," he said, looking confused.

"How was a whole town wiped out?" Ruby repeated; maybe Sky didn't understand her question.

Sky glanced at Ruby. He had been waiting for Madison to explain how the government sent out the signals, but shrugged. He guessed Ruby knew her better than he, if she didn't think Madison would be offended ... "The Rock, or at least, a piece of the Rock. The city's all gone! They showed a girl who was taping it."

"A ... piece ..." Ruby suddenly felt very faint.

"Hmmm, are you sure it is legitimate?" Madison wondered. "The government might have set up the whole broadcast. This way they could catch the world's attention and subject them to the subliminal messages within the footage. Tell me Sky, do you have the sudden longing to do something for the government? Perhaps plans to establish one when we reach our destination?" 

Sky shook his head. "No it was more like a feeling of sadness, I mean, all those people ..."

"I have a feeling the broadcast was true," Ruby said, looking at Madison sadly.

"Perhaps, but the government could have put subliminal messages in it before it was broadcasted. Sky, did you wear any special eye protection? Maybe the government orders are suppressed and will reveal themselves when the Mayflower settles. I think I am the only one here who has taken extra precaution against the government. I'll tell you all when you are becoming controlled by Them. Maybe I can think of a way to reverse the process. Ruby, try to stay away from the TV, radios, and other electronics. You can have some of my MRE's. I brought a lot and can't bring them all on board." 

Ruby nodded. "I always liked the old books, like the ones with paper, better than the electronic ones. The electronic ones hurt my eyes too much."

Madison nodded and turned to Sky. "Sky, would you like some MRE's?"

Sky looked at Madison cautiously. "Um. Well, thank you for the offer, but I don't think they'll be needed. You know, the government really isn't all that bad. I mean, where would America be without it? Probably just as bad off as all the other countries." He looked into her eyes to see if they were bloodshot or anything like that. "Are you on any prescriptions?"

"My God, there WERE subliminal messages in that broadcast! They've already gotten to you!" Madison instinctively felt Sky's forehead and looked at his eyes. "Hmm, your eyes appear a bit dilated. Probably from seeing all of the subliminal messages. Don't worry, I'll think of a way to reverse the process. In the meantime, stay away from the TV and other electronics. Here, take a couple MRE's too."

"The government used to be good, but like they say, absolute power corrupts absolutely. The more power they get, the more corrupt they are," Ruby said quietly. "At least, that's what I always believed."

Sky shook his head. "No, you guys are right, some of them are bad. But if our nation didn't have structure, we'd all be a lot worse off. How would we punish the psychos who beat their little girls?" he asked. It was obvious this was a sore spot with him.

"Maybe other family ... or friends ..." Ruby took a breath. "Most judges believe that if something is wrong with the family, the child should still stay within the family. It could be the whole family that could care less and the judge would be just too involved in the way things ought to be."

Sky shook his head. "I'm sure there are cases like that. But without the government, who would criminals be held accountable to?"

Ruby shook her head ... she didn't want to think about this at the moment. "Look, we are going to start off new without OUR government ... we'll see, now won't we?" She grabbed the journal from under her pillow and went on Madison's bed to read it, not taking part of the conversation anymore.

"Ruby is right, we are going to start without our government, and we are going to keep it that way, right?" Madison asked Sky, giving him a suspicious look

Sky shrugged. "I don't know. It's not really up to me. I guess logically, I'd say you're wrong. People will not go long without wanting a leader. Someone who makes the decisions. And then, so it won't be a dictatorship, they will want to appoint littler people, until we have a government once more. I'm not saying this is right, but it's human nature."

"Hmm hum. So Their plan is beginning to work already; the mind-controlling substances in the food and subliminal messages have taken affect. Don't worry," Madison said as she patted Sky's shoulder, "I'll find a cure for you. You won't be their slave forever. With any luck, the effects aren't permanent and will wear off by the time we get off the Mayflower."

Sky grinned good-naturedly. "Well, if I really am being brainwashed, I hope you do." He looked at her with curiosity. "Hey, you know, you came over to the hotel one day, before we got here. You talked to my mom. Why? How do you know my family?"

"Your mom and I used to work with each other," Madison replied evasively.

"Oh, what line of work?" Sky questioned.

"Actually, she was a friend with one of my informants. I got to know her then." Madison was nervous. She had to go along with it though, get the questions out now. If not, he would think she was lying and keep questioning her. She had to keep her cool.

"Hmm, well, okay then. But why did you visit? And how is it you two got to know each other? You guys seem so different in personality," he said with a grin.

Did this kid know she was lying? Was she that bad? No, he was bluffing, she'd have to call his bluff. Shoot, she needed an answer quickly. "I visited because I thought that she might know someone to get me and my friend on board. She did and we got on, simply as that. You don't spend your life around politics without learning how it works."

Sky nodded. "Yeah, it's a mystery to the whole family how she finagled our way onto The Mayflower. Do you know who made it all happen?"

"Marshall!" Shoot, did she say it that quickly? Okay, go with it, maybe he'd let it pass. It should match his story and he'd be satisfied and leave.

Sky looked at her, surprised. "Marshall? But ... he's my *Dad's* boss ... they're not friends ... I mean, why didn't she tell us?"

Madison's eyes went wide and her jaw dropped. She thought they were friends! Why would they have an affair if they weren't? Oh no, this was bad. "Oh, I just figured that they were friends," Madison answered truthfully.

Sky shook his head. "No, my mom despises Marshall. She always begged my dad to get a different job. She said he was no good." He shook his head. "We all knew Marshall had something to do with it, but he was the person who made it happen ... we though she just talked to him after talking to another connection, I mean, wow ... she really hated him ..."

"She loves you more than she hates him. Let's leave it at that. Please don't mention this to your parents." Madison began to panic. She broke her end of the bargain! Savannah would survive, but Marshall would kill her, Mark, and possibly Ruby, Logan, and even the kids. She looked at Sky sternly. "You can NOT tell anyone about this. Stay away from Marshall. Forget everything I told you. You don't know what is at stake here. Please, promise me."

"I won't tell anyone," he said, purposely avoiding her request for him to stay away from Marshall. That he could not do, he had to save Lizzie. He shook off the curiosity at her comment about his mom loving them more than she hated Marshall and smiled. "You know, for a paranoid chick, you're pretty deep."

Madison laughed at that. "Thanks, I think. And remember, no one, especially Marshall and your parents can know what I told you today."

Sky shrugged. "Yeah, I mean, why would I tell them anyway?"

Madison had a nervous smile. "Yeah, why don't you run along now." These last couple days weren't going to be fun. She'll have to keep looking over her shoulder just in case Sky told the wrong person. Stupid! Stupid, stupid, stupid. Madison hopped on her bunk. "See ya."

Sky nodded, going off to find his family once more. "Bye!"

Yago walked down the hall, looking for Angel. His plan was in motion, but he still needed help. Sky and Angel. Those two were his goals so far. Sky made friends easy. He would be popular. Just the type of person Yago needed. And Angel, well, she was powerful. And high in status. She was almost up to his class. He finally saw her sitting on her bunk. He grinned at her. "And what is on the agenda today, Angel?"

Angel looked up to see Yago hovering over her. *Great,* she thought sarcastically. *JUST who I wanted to see.* "What do you mean?" 

Yago grinned broadly. "Nothing at all. I am bored. I just thought you might like some company." 

Angel got up. "Okay. You want to take a walk?" 

Yago smiled with satisfaction. "Yes, let's," he said, offering his arm as is customary. "So Angel, how is it you ended up on this ship alone, without Daddy?" 

Angel took his arm. Her face showed a tinge of sadness at the mention of her father. "Well, my father was offered one berth because NASA owed him a favor. And he gave it to me. Had Dream not died, she probably would have gotten it." Angel paused. The next thing was hard to say. "Before Dream died, I was nothing. Then my parents noticed that I actually existed. So, she would have definitely gotten the berth." 

Yago nodded. "And it would have been a shame if Dream had gotten it. Because then I wouldn't have had the pleasure of your company right now. I always thought you were more beautiful than Dream." 

Angel opened her mouth, trying to think what to say. "Eh ... uh ... thank you ... Yago ..." She stammered. 

Yago smiled. "Ah, and all the more beautiful when you are speechless," he said continuing on their walk. "You know the problem with this ship? No leader. It is why I believe it is doomed for failure." 

"I suppose it's meant to be Democratic, majority makes the decision," Angel replied, staring straight ahead as they walked around the area surrounding the barracks. 

"But that will never work! Everybody will go different ways. This ship needs a leader. Somebody who will be good at it!" Yago said with a fire in his eyes. 

Angel leaned away slightly. This guy had major issues. "Well who would you choose as a leader if the decision was yours?" 

Yago turned to her with a sly smile. "Well, then I would be getting ahead of myself wouldn't I? I am sure the appropriate person would find their way in to leadership." 

"Alright, but let's just say for the sake of argument that everybody wanted you to choose someone. Who would it be?" Angel asked. 

Yago grinned. "Well, for the sake of argument then, my answer is easy. Me. I trust myself more than anyone else on this ship. Would you trust someone else on this ship other than yourself?" 

"You selfish jerk!" Angel broke their arms apart. "Of course I would trust someone else!" 

Unlike many of the people in the barracks, Kara had slept well the night before. She could sleep almost anywhere. After eating breakfast, she looked around, trying to find someone to talk to. Life here would be extremely boring without any friends. 

Angel watched as Kara walked up. "Hi." 

Yago glared. She had interrupted them. "Hello ..." 

Kara smiled at the girl. "Hey." 

Angel smiled, kicking Yago lightly and unnoticeably to Kara. "What's your name?" 

She looked over at Yago with a slight frown. She hadn't noticed him before. "Oh, um, my name's Kara," she answered Angel. 

Yago snickered. "So, Kara, what do you want?"

"Yago!" Angel scolded. "Be nice."

Yago grinned a fake innocent grin. "Oh, sorry, right."

Kara looked from Yago to Angel then back at Yago. Angel seemed pretty nice, but she hadn't liked Yago as just a picture in the news or a face she didn't know, and she liked him even less as a real person. "You know what, never mind, I'll go talk to someone else," she said, annoyed, and stormed off. 

Yago grinned again. "Alone at last, once again." He put his arm around her shoulder. 

Kara glanced back at the two in disgust. The more she knew about Yago, the more she disliked him. 

Angel shrugged his arm off and slapped his right cheek. "You jacka**! Leave me alone!"

Angel started to walk away, but Yago grabbed her arm. "You don't walk away from me!"

"Watch me!" she said, punched him hard, and ran away as he doubled over. She ran away, into the barracks. Then she sat on the bunk, laid down, and stared at the ceiling.


	21. Chapter 21

****

Chapter 21

"I'll take care of you from now on."

Ruby was laying on the bottom bunk, which was meant to be her parents, but didn't care. Madison was on the top, and if her parents showed up ... at least she had Madison to help her.

Madison was a little nervous about a confrontation with Ruby's parents. She got bad vibes from them at the last encounter. Madison took all her belongings with her to Ruby's bunk. She had a plan. Madison promised that she wasn't going to leave Ruby alone with her parents, and she fully intended on keeping that promise.

It looked like it was time to take her plan into effect. Madison saw Ruby's parents approaching the bunk. She did a quick double check to make sure that all of their belongings were on the floor, and quickly turned back to her book and pretended to read.

Ruby's parents were defiantly NOT happy about this. Why was Carina on THEIR bed, and why was that ... girl ... there? They decided to still put on the act because of all the people there. "Carina ..." Ruby's dad said, trying to stay calm. "Why are you on our bed, honey? It's getting late, we should go to bed ..." Ruby just ignored them.

"Carina ..." Ruby's mom started. She shuttered as she looked up at the ... friend. "If you would please excuse us, we need to talk to our daughter." 

"Sure, you're excused. I'm not leaving my bunk though, so if you want to talk to your daughter elsewhere that is fine by me. Otherwise, whatever you have to tell her, you can tell me too. Not that it matters, she'll tell me everything you tell her anyway."

Ruby's parents just gave an 'unnoticeable' glare to Ruby. "Come, Carina." Ruby's dad said, firmly, yet still *acting* calm. Ruby just looked up from the journal, gave her parents a hard look and simply said, "No."

Ruby's parents were about to explode on the inside. "Carina ..." Ruby's mom started. "Now I know you're probably just going through some ... teen ... issues, but we need to talk about this ..." Ruby tried to hide the spiteful laugh.

Madison was bursting with pride. Ruby was sticking up to her parents, probably a first in her life. She wonder how difficult this was for Ruby. Maybe it was time for Ruby's parents to show their true selves. They have lived a lie, their death should not be a lie too. Madison turned to Ruby's parents and gave them a hard stare through squinted eyes.

"Do you not think I know what is going on here? You underestimate me, I am not that naïve. You can end your little charade and the mind games as well, because you are no longer dealing with a child who wants to be loved by her parents. You are dealing with me, an adult, and someone who gets really pissed when the little guy gets pushed around."

Ruby's parents decided they would follow the girl's advice. Who cared if they lost their berths, who cared if they stayed or went? They would die anyway, why not make themselves feel better? Ruby's dad broke the act. He glared at the girl who was friends with Carina. "She told you everything, didn't she?"

Ruby's mom joined in, talking to Ruby. "You little %#&%@! Don't trust a #^$% person! You should know you don't deserve anyone! You worthless piece of-"

"You don't even deserve the air you breath. How dare you speak to your child like that? You, the both of you," Madison spoke as she turned to face both parents, "are the green guck found at the bottom of the barrel. Get out of my sight, you worthless pieces of trash."

Ruby's dad was still angry at this girl. "You don't tell me what to do with my daughter, LITTLE girl!"

Madison jumped off the bunk, and through gritted teeth spoke. "The name is Madison. I am possibly the only person who cares about your daughter because you have confined her to a life of solitude. That life is soon about to change forever, and I am not about to let anyone, including your daughter, be alone through these times. If you cared even remotely for your daughter, you would be comforting her, not calling her a !@#@#. So as far as I am concerned, I am now in charge of Ruby. And I am telling you both to leave now."

"Fine, have the @^$*%." Ruby's mother said, looking from Ruby to Madison. "Glad to get her out of our hands." She looked at Ruby's dad. "Isn't that right?"

Ruby's dad still glared at Madison. "Sure are." Her parents gathered their belongings and walked away out of sight. Ruby was just staring at the journal she had in her hands, not really looking at it.

Madison turned and sat on the edge of Ruby's bed. "I don't think that you will have to worry about your parents anymore. They were wrong. They were wrong in the way they treated you and they were wrong when they said that you don't deserve anyone. You are a human being spawned by scum. You deserve much more than they do, and you deserve much more than they could ever give you. So, if it is okay with you, I'll take care of you from now on."

Ruby just bit her lower lip, closed her eyes, and hugged Madison, crying softly on her shoulder. "Sorry," Ruby sobbed, and tried to stop crying

Madison patted Ruby's back as she returned the hug. This kid had been through a lot of horrible things. Now, with the world coming to an end, maybe Ruby's horror would, too. "Shh, it's okay to cry. Everything's going to be alright now. We are going on the Mayflower and beginning a new life. They won't hurt you anymore. I promise. Everything's going to be okay."

Ruby took a couple deep breaths, then pulled away and looked at Madison. "Thank you again." She gave a small smile and said, "It feels so ... good ... to know that someone cares about you ..."

Madison returned the smile. "I'll always care about you." Madison gave Ruby a small noogie on the head. "I've always wanted a kid. I guess I'll have to settle for a teen."

Ruby gave a small laugh and fixed her hair, still smiling. "Oh yeah." She motioned to the journal. "Interesting already."

Madison smiled as she climbed back on her bunk. "Trust me, it gets better. I think that the barracks will be turning off the lights soon. We've better get ready for bed."

Ruby nodded, saved her place in the journal. She got ready for bed: changed in one of the bathrooms, brushed her teeth ... then she went back to the bed, placed the journal under her pillow. As if on cue, the lights turned off as Ruby got into her bed. "Good night."

Madison woke up with a start. She glanced at her watch: 6:24 AM. Both her and Mark usually got up at around this time. Madison lowered her head and saw that Ruby was still sleeping. Good, this would give her an opportunity to reconcile with Mark. 

Madison straitened up her aluminum suit, grabbed her MRE (meal ready to eat), and headed to the cafeteria. She saw about twenty people, including Mark, eating by himself. She grabbed some water and headed over. She sat down across from Mark and popped one of her purifier pills into the water. 

"Madison, what are you doing?"

"What does it look like? I'm purifying this water."

"It's bottled water, it's already pure." 

"That is what They want you to think. I am positive that this water contains mind-controlling agents. Humanity is dying Mark, but the government doesn't want to die with it. They want to control us since we are representing humanity. I won't be part of their evil plot to take over the universe. And you shouldn't be part of it, either. I can't believe you. Not only are you drinking the water without a pill, but you are eating the food, as well. I bet you don't have your suit on either." 

Mark was becoming annoyed. He thought that he had finally got into her thick head that the government was not trying to control their lives. The only way he was going to convince her was to expose her to what she feared most. While Madison opened her MRE, he took a handful of scrambled eggs and stuffed them in her face, particularly over her mouth.

Madison tried to spit the eggs out, but Mark covered her mouth. She was panicked, but managed to back away from his hand by standing up. She kept spitting on her napkin, even after all the eggs were out. Madison took a large gulp of water and gargled, but didn't know where to spit it. Oh God, she had to get it out of her mouth. She finally just decided to spit it out, not exactly meaning to hit Mark. It was Mark's turn to get upset.

Mark jumped out of his seat. "You just spit on me! I can NOT believe you just did that."

"I can't believe that you just put those eggs in my mouth after I told you what was in them. Geez, I come here to try to work things out with you before we get on the Mayflower, and you put poisoned eggs in my mouth against my will!" By now everyone in the cafeteria, and even some who weren't, were staring at Mark and Madison. They did not let that phase them, though. 

"Madison, you are a PARANOID FREAK. My life was wasted because I followed you through your crazy schemes." 

"If it weren't for my 'crazy' schemes, we wouldn't be here today. I saved your life. It may have been wasted, but at least you are alive. Only now, now you are working for Them. I will not be a part of this anymore."

Madison took a breath to calm down before she continued. "You were my best friend for a long time. You could have quit whenever you wanted. I don't regret anything, especially our friendship. Thanks for sticking with me all these years. Please don't be mad at me, not now. I am who I am."

"You're right, you are who you are. I can't help you for being the same person that I became friends with. But you know how I really feel now. And now that we are on good terms again, I think it is time to part ways." 


	22. Chapter 22

****

Chapter 22

"Look, since the world's coming to an end, can't we resolve this thing?"

Myth tabbed through the manual ... How to Construct Your Own Computer From Scratch. "Well, this is perfect, except the 'scratch' they're talking about is assuming you can drive down to your local hardware store and get screwdrivers and chips." 

He pulled out a different manual from a pocket on the coat he stubbornly sweltered in. "Back to the basics, then. Build a Fire, Build a House. I guess we can work up from there." He continued to review the manuals carefully. He listed what he figured he would be able to make by himself, then what he would need help making. "Everything from lean-to's to backhoes to telephones. We should be set." 

"That's all assuming we stay alive at all."

Myth looked up, startled. Leaning on the frame of the bed was a tall, slender boy. Myth scowled, looking at him. The youth appeared to be ... Myth. He had the same tousled dirty blonde hair, the same green eyes. Everything. Myth might have been looking at a home video from yesterday. "Please don't tell me you're coming along in this thing." 

"You know, you never have been very fair to me." 

"You haven't given me much reason to be." The boy shrugged, and Myth's scowl deepened. The shrug was exactly like his own. "Why do you do that?" 

"What?"

"Imitate me."

"I don't. It comes natural. I have your genes, it's not my fault." 

"Couldn't you be somebody else for a change?" 

"You be somebody else. It's not --" 

"Your fault, I know." Myth, glowering, shoved the manuals back into his many pockets. He folded the list moodily, tucking it next to his heart.

The boy stood silently for a moment, kicking the metal bedpost in thought. Finally, he looked up at Myth. "Look, since the world's coming to an end, can't we resolve this thing?" 

"It'll be resolved the day you stop looking, talking, and sounding like me. How about I break your nose? That should resolve the problem." 

"You know that's not what I meant." 

"Why are you even here?" 

"Your parents arranged it. They wanted me to be here in case ... well, just in case."

"In case I die, or get hurt?" 

"Yeah."

Myth set his jaw. "Doesn't it bother you, the possibility of my getting hurt?"

"I've had to live with it every day of my life." 

"Me too." They stood in silence for awhile. "You know why I've never liked you, Drone?" 

"Why?" 

"Because if anything happens to me, if I need a new heart, new blood, they'll ..." 

"Yeah." 

"I wish it wasn't possible."

The boy called Drone smiled. "We won't exactly have state-of-the-art medicine where we're going, Myth." Myth smiled an identical smile. 

"That's true, isn't it?" He gave Drone a long, sweeping, searching look. "Well, then. Friends on one condition." 

"What's that?"

"You change your name when we get where we're going."

"I'll consider it. Though I'm kinda attached." 

Myth extended his hand. "Friends." Drone took it as though it had been a rope and he'd been about to drown. 

"Friends. Brothers." 

Myth smiled wryly. "Let's just start with friends. One thing at a time."


	23. Chapter 23

*** Days Until Impact: 1 ***

****

Chapter 23

"Don't mind Yago, he's just in one of his perpetual moods."

Ayrinne sat on the floor, leaning up against the wall, her journal on the ground beside her. She had intended to come to this spot to write, thinking it would be one of the few spots in the barracks that might have potential for a little privacy. She picked up the pen (Ayrinne approved of most technology, but still held to the old custom of writing with pen and paper) and began to write.

"I'm here in Florida. The Sunshine state. You remember, the place I always said I wanted to visit some time? Well, I am, but it isn't exactly the situation I'd hoped for. I'm here in the barracks with the rest of The Eighty, waiting for tomorrow when we launch. Tomorrow we'll abandon the rest of our friends and families and-"

"Aaaw, how sad."

Ayrinne stopped writing and looked up. Yago was standing over her shoulder, reading what she wrote. She snapped the journal closed. "You know, it's not exactly considered polite to read people's private thoughts," she said in annoyance.

Yago smirked. "Oh, was that private? I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to intrude," he said, ending on a sneer. "It really is a pity your father insisted you come ..." he said and then smiled again, flashing his perfectly white teeth. "Then again, I am sure having you along will make things more interesting. They always are when you're there to contend with." 

Yago felt a small amount of respect for Ayrinne, even if he did strongly dislike her. She took his verbal barbs much better than most. But she was still just another annoying distraction, someone else he would have to put up with, and he did wish she hadn't been brought along.

Ayrinne made a sarcastic smile. "I aim to please. Wouldn't want your brilliant wit to go stale by not having someone around who can beat you in one of your verbal wrestling matches." She paused, then said, "You know, I think that deep down, you're actually glad I came ..."

Yago gave her a look of pure arrogance. "Oh yes, I'm sure you're right, deep in the depths of my heart you're the exact person I wanted to come along." He gave her the once over, this time his look conveying condemnation. "Although I'm sure you would love the idea of me liking you, I believe your forgetting your place. Your *father* works for *me.*"

Ayrinne laughed, heartily amused at his statement, then shook her head in a mixture of wonder and pity. "Well, first of all, that wasn't what I meant. You can be sure of that. Twerp-" she used the old nick-name she'd given him years ago when she had actually been taller than him, specifically because he hated it "-you seem to forget a couple things. First, I'm older than you. Second, you are such a little jerk you should be glad I put up with you. And that I do only barely, so don't you get any ideas of me liking you, or wanting you to like me."

Yago smirked. "Oh, how you do wound me with your harsh words. You're right, I did want you to come, because I find your petty cut-downs so amusing."

Ayrinne decided to ignore the second part of Yago's answer and play up the first. She feigned surprise and concern, both full of sarcasm and mockery in hopes that she would make Yago look the fool. "Are you really hurt? Do you mean that I, the weak and pitiful girl who is only here because her father works for the President's son, *actually hurt* the almighty twerp himself? I'm astonished that one so great could be wounded so easily. Shocked! Horrified! Appalled! Shall I put some salve on your pride, Oh Mighty Weakling?"

Yago's immediate reaction was anger, but he quickly forced it cool. "Dear girl, how your childish insults do amuse me. It's what I love about you, you always rise to the occasion." His smile cool and his eyes shooting daggers. "I do suggest you learn to think before you speak though. No wonder you never have a boyfriend, I don't know who would want a girl as prickly as you."

Ayrinne smiled the smile of one who had succeeded in her task and was now going to rub it in. "Ah, my dear Yago, that is where you are wrong. I *do* think about what I say. The reason I don't have a boyfriend isn't that I scare them all away, it's that I have a hard time picking from so many who apply for the job..." That last part wasn't true, Yago had actually been correct, but Ayrinne would never admit it to him.

Yago shifted his attention from Ayrinne when he saw Sky walking by. "Hey!"

Sky looked up and grinned at Yago making the short jog over. He smiled at Ayrinne politely. "Hello."

Ayrinne stood up and reached out to shake the boy's hand. "Hi," she said amiably. "My name's Ayrinne. Don't mind Yago, he's just in one of his perpetual moods. I've been told that he could be cured and even become a fine up-standing citizen, but it requires some effort and since he's not willing to give it ..." She glanced over at Yago, who looked about ready to tear her limb from limb. She winced inwardly and fell silent. Even if she didn't like Yago, they had always been friendly enemies, and she preferred the relationship to stay that way. Having Yago as a true enemy would not be a good thing.

Kara walked over with a chuckle. "Hey Sky, Ayrinne. I heard you guys talking and decided to come over. I'm Kara," she told them. "I heard you mention your name, Ayrinne, that's how I know who you are." She had purposefully ignored Yago. The only reason she was there at the same time he was, was that it appeared there was someone there who could put him in his place.

Sky grinned. "Wow, you seem to know everyone," he said to Yago. "And they're all so pretty," he said, smiling at Ayrinne and Kara.

"Maybe. But the girls I know all seem to lack one thing. Manners," he said, still looking at Ayrinne coldly. If she embarrassed him in front of Sky, she wouldn't live to regret it.

Ayrinne put on as innocent a face as she could while feeling guilty at the same time. Sometimes she just couldn't seem to remember when to stop ... Yago was still a friend, even if he got on her nerves most of the time. "Who, me?" she asked with a smile.

Sky just nodded, he never knew how to respond to Yago and his girlfriends, all their relationships were so complicated.

Yago gave Ayrinne a suspicious look, then turned to Kara, bored with the previous discussion. She was actually quite pretty. A sly smile crossed his face. "By the way, while we're discussing manners, I have found yours to be quite nice, Kara. I was thinking maybe you could give me a lesson in manners, alone ... later," he said, then grabbed her hand giving it a hard squeeze. "What do you say, Kara?"

Kara jumped visibly and felt the hair begin to rise on the back of her neck. She jerked her arm, trying to pull away, but Yago wouldn't let go. "I ... We're leaving tomorrow, I don't--I mean, there isn't going to be time between now and then."

Ayrinne glared at Yago. She knew perfectly well that this was to get back at her for teasing him. She clenched and unclenched her fists, about ready to grab him by the ear and go talk some sense into the child, like she'd heard school teachers used to do to naughty children.

Yago's hands wrapped tighter around Kara's arm, not wanting to let her go even more now that she was struggling. He really was enjoying this. Sky watched in silent confusion, but when he saw the terror in her eyes, he jumped in pulling Yago away from Kara. "Hey, she's really scared, it's not a joke," he said quietly as Kara stood there, looking very shaken and upset.

Ayrinne's rage had been barely contained up until this point, and now she made no effort to stay calm. When she was mad, few people were not afraid of her, even despite her lack of height. Her face turned red with suppressed rage as she marched over to Yago and grabbed his ear in a tight pinch, pulling hard so that he leaned down until he was on eye level with her. He was one of those few people who was not often frightened by Ayrinne's anger, but even he looked a little nervous. "Robert Zedekiah Castleman," she growled at him. "You had better cut it out and start acting like you're fifteen and maybe have a small amount of grey matter that isn't totally rotten. Do you understand me? And you leave Kara alone. From this moment on, she's under my protection. You got that?"

Yago hit Ayrinne's arm, roughly forcing her to let go of his now aching ear. She had twisted it badly, and he wondered if she had broken it. He took a step forward to get her back, but Sky stepped forward, pushing Kara behind him and moving in front of Ayrinne protectively. Yago swore under his breath. He needed Sky on his side for the plan to work. He forced an easy smile when he looked at Ayrinne. "Of course, I was just joking." He glanced at Sky once more, who looked more relaxed now, but was still hovering protectively. "If you ladies will excuse me now, see you later Sky ..." he said, walking off jauntily, all the while thinking of ways to get back at Ayrinne.

Ayrinne scowled at Yago and wanted more than anything to follow him and continue lecturing him. But maternal instinct said that Kara needed her there. So she sighed and turned back to her.

Sky smiled at Kara apologetically. "I'm sorry about that, I think he was just joking. He's weird like that. Are you okay?"

Kara took a shaky breath, blinking back tears, and rubbed her wrist. It was red and ached terribly; a bruise would probably form soon. "Yeah, at least, I think so ..."

Ayrinne glared at Yago's retreating form. "He won't be bothering you again. Trust me. If he does, you just come tell me and I'll be sure to ..." She paused with a grin. "Well, I'm not exactly sure what I'd do. Maybe cut off all that precious green hair of his ... I dunno. But something that he would find terrible." She laid her hand on Kara's shoulder and gave it a gentle squeeze. "Are you really okay?" she asked with concern, then lowered her voice so Sky couldn't hear. "Or are you just trying to put on a brave face?"

Kara smiled a little. "Probably a little of both," she said in the same quiet tones.

Ayrinne smiled back, then inspected Kara's wrist. Eyeing it critically she intoned, "You may want to put some ice on that ... You know, to keep it from bruising."

"I can go get some," Sky offered quickly.

"No, no, really. I'm fine," Kara said. "Really."

Sky shook his head. "No, I insist. Just wait a sec," he said, then quickly ran to get ice. He found it with little difficulty, then went back to where he had left them to see Kara sitting down and Ayrinne looking concerned. He lugged the big bag of ice over to where she sat and put it down beside her. "There!" he said, smiling proudly at his insight and thinking ahead.

Kara laughed. "No, look, I'm really fine. Look, the mark is going away. I don't need any ice!"

Ayrinne frowned reproachfully at Kara. "He just went to all that trouble to get you some ice and now you're not going to use it? You really are an ungrateful girl ..."

Sighing, Kara grabbed a piece of ice and put it on her wrist, wincing a bit as it touched the bruised flesh. "Happy?"

Sky shook his head. "No, it's okay, if she doesn't want to use it, I totally don't mind. I was just trying to help." He smiled at Kara. "I'm really sorry about that." He looked at Ayrinne anxiously. "I didn't know he was actually hurting her ..." he said, somehow not wanting her to think he was a jerk. She seemed the type of person who naturally carried authority, because people naturally wanted to keep her happy.

Ayrinne made a wry smile, glancing over at Kara who had still kept the ice on her wrist. "She'll be okay. Yago was just mad at me and trying to get back by taking his anger out on my friends. He knew I wouldn't care if he blew up at me directly; I've known him too long to be bothered by his rages. Besides, he loves the attention. The little creep would probably even swallow a live scorpion if it got people to notice him."

One of the main things that had always made Ayrinne nervous about Yago was that he was not afraid to hurt others in order to get what he wanted. Generally, that meant attention. Yago believed in survival of the fittest, and since the fittest were obviously not just the survivors but those who came out on top, he was determined to come out on top. Even if it meant hurting someone else to achieve that goal.

Sky nodded uncertainly. He didn't like talking about people, he always figured if they talked about this person with him, they'd talk about him with that person. "I'm sure it was just an accident," he offered, then glanced at Kara. "If you need anything, you'll tell me right?"

"No, it wasn't an accident," Ayrinne said decisively. "He knew exactly what he was doing. He may be rude and annoying, but he's not dumb. He's smart, ruthless, and wily. Kinda like a weasel, only worse." When Ayrinne stopped talking, she realized that no one was even listening to her. But, it didn't matter. She was really talking for her own sake anyway.

Kara smiled. "Of course. But I'm sure I'll be fine."

Sky nodded. "Ok, I gotta go then, I need to meet with CosmAstra. I'll check up on you later, okay?"

"Okay. Bye then!" Kara answered. She watched as Sky walked off, then looked over at Ayrinne. She had sat down in the corner and resumed writing in her journal. "Well, I guess I'd best be getting back to my own bunk," Kara said. "I'll see you later, okay Ayrinne?"

"Mm-hmm." Ayrinne barely even looked up from her writing to bid Kara farewell. It wasn't as though they wouldn't be seeing each other again soon. She bit her lip, then with sudden decision crossed out what she had written earlier. That just wasn't where she wanted to go with this entry any more. She picked up the pen and jotted a short entry. 

"I think I knew that Yago's being one of the Eighty would cause problems. But I guess I'd always felt I could handle things. Keep him from going out of control. And I still think I can, but he's proving that it will be about as hard as it would be to stop the world from turning for anyone to stop him. Stop him from what, I don't know. Maybe I'm being paranoid, but he just seems to have some plan in mind. Some plan that he's not telling us. And I know that whatever it is won't be a plan for the betterment of mankind." 

She paused, frowned at the bit she'd written, then, on impulse tore the sheet out, crumpled it up, and threw it into a nearby garbage can. 


	24. Chapter 24

****

Chapter 24

"They're all gonna die ..."

Lizzie was pretending to be asleep on her bunk. It felt odd to know that Brent--she still refused to think of him as 'Dad'--was right underneath her. A subtle shifting below her made her squeeze her eyes tight. After a few seconds, she opened them a fraction. 

Brent had stood up, and was walking away from the bunk. He was heading in the opposite direction from the bathroom, and Lizzie knew he was up to something. Now she could call CosmAstra. 

She flicked a switch on the tiny machine beside her ear. "Link," she whispered. "Call CosmAstra." 

Calee was just this close to dozing off completely when her link startled her into adrenaline-induced consciousness. *Wonderful,* she thought. 

"Link: Answer." 

"CosmAstra, it's me, Lizzie," came the whispered voice on the other end. 

"Lizzie, hi, is your dad gone?" she asked her. 

"Yeah," Lizzie said. "He'll be gone for a while. We can search his bags now." 

"Okay, I'll get Sky and the others and we'll meet you there. If he comes back, just call me again." She switched off the link, and slowly got up from her bunk. Remembering to put her shoes on--gosh, but did she hate bugs--she made sure the person above her was still asleep. Madison had moved out, but Calee didn't blame her. Her new bunkmate had a strange name: Mo'Steel. Pushing thoughts of bunkmates out of her head, she then tiptoed over to Sky's bunk. The noise of lots of air conditioners masked her sounds from any light sleepers. 

"Sky?" she whispered. 

Sky rolled over in his sleep. He had heard a voice. He turned over to see an angel. He rubbed his eyes. "Am I dead?" he mumbled. 

Calee frowned. "I hope not. Now come on, sleepy head, I thought you were a morning person." 

He shook his head to try and clear his vision. "Is it morning?" he asked, then turned back to the angel. He smiled. He wasn't dead, it was Calee. "Good, I wasn't ready to be dead yet. Where are we going?" 

"Lizzie called," she answered. "It's the middle of the night ..." She checked her watch. "Almost two. Everyone's asleep, but she said Marshall left and won't be back. Now's the time, Sky." 

"Oh, uh, right ... should we wake my little brother and sister?" he asked, wondering if it was a good idea. 

"Too late, we're already up! We've been waiting," said a loud whisper. He looked down at Rayley and Tyler, neither one looking half as tired as he felt. Rayley grinned. "Let's do it!" Sky nodded, and they all began walking down the hall quietly. 

Lizzie met them at the bunk. "What do you want me to do?" she whispered, looking up at the two teenagers anxiously. 

Sky looked down at all the kids, now feeling much more alert. "Keep guard, if he starts to come, do something, anything, as a distraction. And make sure it's loud, so we can know to get out of there!" 

"But make sure he doesn't catch any of you," Calee warned, looking into each of their faces. "No heroics." The kids all nodded solemnly. "Okay," Calee nodded. "Now spread out." They ran off, and she turned to Sky. 

Sky led the way down to the room. He entered without reservation and began going through Marshall's stuff. "Find anything that looks important or incriminating." 

"That's a detailed description," Calee muttered to herself. She began sorting through a dark brown duffel bag. 

Sky shuffled through the briefcase, looking at different papers. Nothing. He sighed in frustration. 

"There's nothing here," Calee finally told him. "Now what?" Suddenly, a commotion from outside made them both look up.

Tyler, Rayley and Lizzie were walking down the hall with their eyes closed and their arms outstretched, pretending to sleepwalk. Marshall was staring, looking confused, then he looked up at Calee and Sky. Sky shrugged. 

"If you can't beat 'em, join 'em." He forced himself not to blink and began walking around zombie-style. 

*He's crazy,* Calee thought to herself, then began doing the same thing. 

Marshall was staring in confusion. There was about a whole daycare of kids and two teenagers wandering around and near his bunk. *Okay, not a daycare,* he amended mentally, *but too many.* What was going on? Then, a little boy fell to the floor and appeared to be snoring. He stared incredulously. Were they all sleep walking? 

Lizzie's heart was pounding. Though she walked around like the others, she made sure to stay out of sight of her father. He knew she didn't sleepwalk, never had. 

Sky stared coldly at Marshall, and Marshall had to remind himself the kid was asleep. Then he saw Lizzie. Wait a second, she didn't sleep walk! He started to walk over there when he heard laughing behind him. It was Sky, Savannah's kid. "Sorry Mr. Marshall, it's just, we play a game to see who can pretend sleepwalk the latest without actually falling asleep, and it seemed like we had you fooled for a minute there," he said, nudging Calee to get her to go along with it and giving a warning look to Lizzie and Rayley. Tyler was still on the floor. 

Calee smiled, hoping that the dark would hide her disgust for this man. "Yup, they invited me and Lizzie to join. I hope you don't mind Mr. Marshall, but Lizzie does need more friends to play with, wouldn't you say?" She smiled again, sweetly this time, so Marshall couldn't disagree. 

Marshall felt ready to slap one of these kids. But instead he just smiled. Too many witnesses. Lizzie would pay later. "Yeah, you're right. You kids go ahead and play. I'll catch up with Lizzie later," he said menacingly. 

Calee swallowed the anger in her throat and eyes as she nodded. "Yeah, thanks Mr. Marshall." She turned, grabbed Lizzie's hand, and left. "You'll sleep in my bunk tonight," she whispered to the girl.

Sky picked up Tyler and Rayley followed. Tyler looked up and started fighting Sky off. "We gotta go get him, he's gonna try to do something mean to Lizzie. Come on, we can take him!" 

Sky just shook his head. "Hush, and go to bed," he said, making sure the both of them left. Then he went to see Lizzie and Calee. "I'm sorry Lizzie, we didn't find anything."

"That's okay, Sky," she said quietly. "You did your best. It's only one day more ... I can stay away from him until then, right?" She smiled, but the teens could see through it. 

Calee looked up at him. "Don't worry, Sky. I'm going to keep her with me." 

Sky looked at Lizzie then Calee, then back to Lizzie again. "Lizzie. I want you to know, I *promise* you he will never lay a hand on you again. Never again," he said lowly, then gave her a half hug. He nodded at Calee as he walked off to his own bunk. 

"Come on, Lizzie," Calee whispered quietly, glancing once again to make sure her bunkmate was still sleeping. "Climb on up." She did, and Calee pulled the covers up onto her. 

"What about you?" Lizzie whispered. "Where will you sleep?"

"I'll be fine," she answered. "You just relax and sleep."

"CosmAstra ..." 

"Yes?" 

"What if he finds me here?" 

Calee swallowed, and smoothed down Lizzie's hair. "He won't. Don't worry. You're safe." She paused and smiled at her. "Good night." 

After Lizzie fell asleep, Calee stood, and walked towards the stairs. She passed a little ways off from Marshall's bunk, making sure he was sleeping. He was.

She went downstairs. Almost everyone was asleep by now, even the ones who had still been watching the horrible news of San Francisco. The only light came from the few Exit signs and a light from the kitchen. The shadows cast by the tables and chairs, combined with the almost-complete silence made her shiver. Sitting, she laid her head down on one of the tables, and tried to sleep. 

Rayley got up quietly. She looked up at Tyler, but he was fast asleep. She knew what she had to do. She would go to the cafeteria and tell the policeman she had seen there. He would make it all okay. It didn't matter what Tyler said, he was just a kid, and Sky was playing hero. What they needed to do was tell someone, and that was exactly what she was going to do.

She padded out silently, finally arriving in the cafeteria. Complete darkness, and her eyes could not adjust. She stumbled over somebody and looked up to see Calee. What was she doing here? 

Startled, Calee looked down to see Rayley. Trying to slow her racing heart, she smiled slightly. "Rayley. Shouldn't you be sleeping?" 

Rayley shook her head. "No, I'm gonna go tell a cop about Mr. Marshall. My friend's dad was one, and he said you should always tell when something bad was going on. So I'm gonna go tell!" 

Calee swallowed. "Sweetie, you know Lizzie doesn't want us to tell. I feel the same way you do." She sighed. "Lizzie's right, though. The world is ending, no one's going to care about an abused kid, and Marshall would only hurt her more, afterwards, if ..." Calee stopped herself just in time. She had almost said 'if we wake up.' Instead, she finished with "... when we get to our new planet. We'll have to take care of him ourselves." Calee smiled. "You shouldn't worry, Rayley. Sky and I will take care of everything." 

Rayley shook her head. "But, what if you can't? We can't let him hurt her again! It's not right!" she said, feeling like crying. It always made her stomach hurt to think of other people's problems. 

Calee drew Rayley into a hug. She felt like crying, too. This position was very different for her--she had never cried around strangers, and during the rare times she had let her feelings out, her father had been there to comfort her. "Shh," she said, awkwardly stroking Rayley's hair. "It's okay. Shh." 

Rayley sobbed. "But it's not, cause he's being so evil, and we can't help, and it's just not fair! Why is he doing this?" she asked in a whisper. 

"Some people just ... are like that," Calee said. "They may have had bad moms and dads, or they could have grown up with prejudices. People ... people like that rarely change." 

Rayley shook her head. "It's not right! It's just not ..." she sighed. "Do you really think Sky will be able to take care of it?" 

"Well," Calee said carefully. "He's your brother, and you probably know him better than me. But ... from what I know of Sky, I think he won't give up. He'll handle it. Don't worry." 

Rayley hiccuped and nodded. "Yeah, he always handled things when we needed help." She shook her head. "But you know what? It's not just Lizzie. It's all those people. The guy at the counter who always gave me a penny. And the lady at the bank who gave me and Tyler four lollipops instead of two. They're all gonna die ..." 

Calee's chest heaved suddenly as thoughts she had tried to block of Earth's destruction flooded her mind. Faces of people she loved and barely knew flashed through her mind. And then her father. "I know," she choked out. "I know." She paused for a long, long time. "Look, why don't you go to sleep, okay?" 

Rayley nodded slowly. "Okay ... I guess ..." 

Calee wiped Rayley's tearstained cheeks. "You're a sweet kid. Good night, Rayley." 

Rayley felt her chin tremble a little but nodded bravely. "'Night." 

She started to walk away then turned back around. "You know, I'm glad Sky has you for a friend. The last girl always stunk and called me a brat." And then, satisfied with her compliment, she walked away. 

Smiling, although unsure of what that last comment entirely meant, Calee rested her head on the table. Sleep came much easier this time. 


	25. Chapter 25

***Days Until Impact: 0 ***

****

Chapter 25

"Mommy!"

They were leaving the next day. Leaving Earth forever. It just felt too soon. San Francisco had come as such a shock. Becca had been there just last summer. She felt guilty going on a vacation, but she wanted to have some fun for a change. 

She felt guilty now for even thinking about fun. 

Becca looked out the window. Another one of those nondescript black cars. Another arrival? Wasn't it a bit late for that? 

Oh well, nothing to lose to go outside and see what was going on. At least it would kill the time. She stepped out into the humid evening. Ugh. She could never get used to this weather. 

The new arrivals were a mother and daughter. The little girl had blonde curly hair and looked around five or six. Her mother knelt in front of her, and tears were streaming down the girl's cheeks. 

"Mother could only get one berth. She's sending her child," said the soldier standing guard. 

"Oh," Becca said. She couldn't think what else to say. 

The little girl began to sob. "Mommy, don't go! Don't leave like Daddy did!" 

It was obvious how much pain the woman was in from the look on her face as she turned to face Becca. 

"You ... you have a berth?" the woman questioned. Becca nodded. "Do you mind coming over here?" Becca nodded again and walked over. 

"I work at NASA. I tried so hard, to get berths for the both of us. But I couldn't. And what kind of mother would I be if I didn't send her?" Becca knew the question was rhetorical and said nothing. 

"Her name is Jessica Martin. Jessie, I call her. She's five and a half. She's very sweet, really. Very close to me since her father left us. But she was happy. Very happy. She had so many friends. I wish I didn't have to do this. At first I didn't think I'd get any berth, at all. But today, I got a call. Someone who was chosen for a berth committed suicide. And I was next on the list. So I took it. I had to. And we rushed here, from Houston." 

Becca knelt down next to the little girl. The girl didn't look at her though, just continued to cry. 

"I know this is a lot to ask ... but could you take care of her? I don't know who to ask, and ... are you all alone?" Becca nodded. "You'll look after her? You will?" the woman asked, desperately. 

"Yes. I will," Becca replied. 

The woman handed her a backpack. "There's a change of clothes in there. Warmer things. Make sure she wears them tomorrow. It could be cold, they said, where you are going, and I think, better safe than sorry. They said she couldn't bring anything ... but I sewed pockets into the jacket. Her favorite doll, and a photo album. They're in there." The woman began to sob. "Oh God, I don't want to leave her. But I have to. Now." The woman got back into the car and slammed the door. 

"Mommy!" the little girl screamed. "Mommy!" 

Becca wanted to comfort the girl. But she just didn't know what to say.

Because what could you say to a five-year-old girl who would never see her mother again, because in under 24 hours, she would be dead? 


	26. Chapter 26

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Chapter 26

"You'll take care of me?"

It was early evening. Calee walked through the barracks, seeing everything and everyone. Later that night, they would leave for the Mayflower. Though they were all tired, the Eighty were too wound up to sleep. 

She walked down the wooden steps and into the quickly darkening cafeteria. She glanced around, and saw Becca by one of the windows. 

Becca leaned on the windowsill, staring out at the night sky. She'd miss this view. When she was little, she loved to look at the stars. 

Calee spoke softly, so as not to startle Becca. "It's a surprisingly clear night, isn't it?" 

Becca turned around. "Yeah. It is." She sighed. "You can see it up there." She turned to look back out. "It's so bright, so close." 

Calee turned and followed her gaze. The Rock was bright, showing all of the reflected sunlight at Earth. She shivered. "It's like a stain on the stars. I love the stars ... they'll go on, even when we're dust." Her tone took on an airy tone, as she spoke of things she had always kept to herself. 

Suddenly, Becca felt a hand tugging on her shirt hem. "Becca," came the whisper, a child's whisper. She looked down. It was Jessie. 

"Jessie," Becca said softly. "You couldn't sleep either?" 

"Who's this?" Calee inquired. 

"Jessica Martin," Becca said. "Jessie. Her mother worked for NASA in Houston. They were next on the list, but they didn't make it. A berth opened, though. Someone ... killed themselves. Her mother asked me to look after her. I couldn't say no." 

Calee knelt to be on the same level as Jessie. Her eyes were wide and blue, and more sad than a five-year-old's should be. "Hello, Jessie," she whispered, a strange lump in her throat not allowing her to speak any louder. 

Jessie sniffled. "Hi. I miss my mommy." Tears began to trickle down her cheeks. "My mommy said after my daddy left she'd never leave and she did." Jessie stood on her tiptoes to look out the window. "Mommy used to look at the stars with me." 

Unconsciously, Calee bit her lip. "I'm very sorry, Jessie. I miss my mommy, too. But, um ... we have to be big girls. You and me and Becca. Because that's what our moms would want." She sniffed. "And if you want, we can look at the stars. Together." She turned her head then, and it was clear she meant the message to be for Becca, too. 

Jessie squinted. "Mommy taught me all the names and the constellations. I tried to remember. I don't remember that one, though," she said, pointing at the Rock. Jessie turned. "You two are bigger than me. Do you know what it is?" 

Calee nodded. "Yes. It's the Rock. It's ... a comet. Do you know what those are?" 

Jessie nodded. "Mommy told me about them. They're made up of gas and ice and stuff, I think." 

Calee smiled slightly. "Right. Well, the comet, which we call the Rock ..." She trailed off, wondering if she should tell her the truth about it. I wouldn't want to be lied to, she thought. "The Rock is going to hit Earth, Jessie. And it'll be like the dinosaurs ... except a lot worse." 

Jessie frowned. "Mommy said when the comet hit earth it killed all the dinosaurs. Is that why Mommy wants me to leave?" 

"Yes," said Calee. "So that you'll be safe. So you'll have a better chance of surviving than zero." 

"But why didn't Mommy want to come with me? Didn't she want to? Didn't she?" insisted Jessie. 

"She ... couldn't," Calee replied carefully. "Only a few people could be saved. And ... and your mommy had to stay on Earth so she could launch the spaceship." Calee wasn't entirely sure if that was true or not, but a small fib wouldn't hurt. "So she's gotta help save you." 

"She loves me and that's why she's staying," Jessie said softly. "That's why, right?" 

Calee smiled shakily. "Right." She took a deep breath. This was too much, too much for her. "I ... I have to go. But I promise I'll talk to you both later, all right?" 

"You... you'll be on the ship, too?" Jessie asked softly. "You and Becca? You'll take care of me?" 

Calee nodded fiercely. "Yes. I promise, Jessie. We'll take care of you." She hesitated, then reached forward and kissed Jessie's forehead lightly. "See you later ..." With that, she took off, not quite running, but moving fast enough so no one could see the tears running down her cheeks. 


	27. Chapter 27

****

Chapter 27

"My way with this one."

Rayley glanced around. No one was asleep, even though it was very, very late. She had learned from Sky that tonight they would be leaving on the Mayflower. In about an hour they would climb into the buses. But for now, Rayley had to hide from Tyler.

Where to go? Her small, green eyes darted around the room as she moved, silently counting off the seconds left.

There! A closet. It was tucked into a corner, and there seemed to be no one around it. Rayley opened the door and squeezed into it. She left the door open a crack so she could know when everyone was leaving.

Marshall found Yago and dragged him away from all the people, into a dark corner. 

Yago glared. "What?!" 

Marshall looked around nervously. "Somebody's been through my stuff." 

Rayley stifled a gasp, and kept as silent as she could. What if Marshall knew it was her brother? 

Yago shook his head. "What do you mean?" 

Marshall glowered. "I mean what I said. Everything was out of place." 

Yago smirked. "You're being paranoid, old man." 

Marshall gave him a firm slap. "Don't tell me that, we have too much to lose. Savannah's brats have been around there. I know it." His eyes glazed over. "She'll be mine soon, you know ..." 

Yago shook his head impatiently. "You're being stupid. What's your obsession with this woman, anyway?" 

Marshall glared. "She will be mine, I will have her. And Logan won't even know about it."

Rayley's eyes blazed with anger. Her parents loved each other! How dare he! Forgetting the danger, she leapt out of the closet and shoved the man, who was standing with his back to her. "You're evil!" she shouted. 

"You're mean to your daughter, and you're mean to my family! Now I know all about you, I'm going to tell the police. I don't care if the world's ending, you need to be taught a lesson! You're so mean!" During her ranting, she beat at him with her small fists. 

Marshall fell forward and Yago stepped out of the way so he could fall cleanly. He turned around and glared at the little girl. She had heard it all. He smirked at Yago. "Looks like we'll have to do it. My way with this one," he said, then he threw her off of him. He raised his fist high above his head and brought it down on her face. He heard a crack and watched as the blood began squirting out of her mouth with satisfaction. She fell to the ground and kicked her in the stomach, then again and again. He picked her up with a snarl. "What's the matter, little girl, can't fight anymore?" 

Calee walked through the barracks, smiling. Tyler couldn't find Rayley and had asked for her help. She turned a corner, and instinct sent her scrambling back, out of sight.

There, right before her eyes, stood Brent Marshall. He towered over a figure, and the boy Yago stood off to the side, smirking. Marshall picked the figure up, and the light hit her face, her beautiful, bloody face. It was Rayley! 

Calee stood there, watching, transfixed and frozen by shock and fear. Behind her, she heard, "Hey, CosmAstra, have you found Rayley?" 

She whirled around. "Mr. Paul, no, stop--" 

"You're a horrible man!" came the cry from behind the corner. Rayley's cry. 

Logan looked down at the girl, then back up in alarm. He ran around the corner quickly. There sat his daughter, his beautiful daughter, broken on the floor. He rushed over to her and began stroking her head. "Rayley, honey ..." he said, not comprehending how this had happened. Suddenly, he felt a searing pain and something went into his back. He fell down and it went in even deeper. He gasped in pain. 

Marshall watched with a smirk as Logan fell. Him and his daughter would both die, and he would not do them the favor of making it any quicker. They would die slowly. But they wouldn't be found. No, because it was berth time. He walked out quickly with Yago, not noticing the girl who had seen it all. 

As soon as Yago and Marshall disappeared out of her sight, something snapped in Calee. She staggered forward, then halted, tears streaming down her cheeks, as she saw both father and daughter lying wounded on the ground.

"Daddy ..." Rayley whispered. "I tried to stop him from being mean ..." 

Logan nodded, even though it caused pain to go racing through him even more sharply. "I know honey ... I'm sorry, I'm so sorry," he said with the tears running down his own cheeks. 

"Don't cry, Daddy," Rayley said, her tears mirroring those in his eyes. "Daddies don't cry, remember?" A shudder ran through her body, but Rayley seemed oblivious to it. "Please ... please tell Mommy I love her. And tell Tyler I'm sorry for being so mean to him, and tell Sky I'm really glad he was the oldest ..." Words were spilling out of her now, faster and faster, though it pained her to speak. "And Daddy ... I want you to take care of my doll. I ..." 

Logan blinked his eyes to keep from crying, but knew he was anyway. He grabbed Rayley into a tight hug, glad she didn't know he was dying, too. He couldn't handle this, and at that moment, he prayed God would take him first, so he wouldn't have to watch his only daughter die in his arms. "I love you, honey," he said in a husky whisper. "And more proud of you than you'll ever know ..." 

He couldn't help but remember the picture they had gotten taken last spring, of the two of them, and the necklace she wore that proclaimed her to be daddy's girl. He wrapped his arms around her, feeling his last breath coming. 

Another shudder ran through her body. It was so hard to breathe. "I love you, Da ..." Rayley's head fell to the side, her last word left unfinished. 

Logan began sobbing then, as his little girl's body went limp in his arms. The same prayer he repeated over and over, for God to take him now ... 

Calee knelt by Logan, tears coursing down her cheeks like a river. _Oh my God, oh my God_, she thought to herself, repeating it over and over to herself like a mantra. "What ... what can I do?" she said, almost hysterically. _Rayley's dead ... Oh my God ... _

Logan looked over at the girl, crying. "Tell ... tell Sky, to take care of his mother and his brother ..." He winced in pain at talking. "Take ... take care of Rayley's doll for me ... Leave now, before they see you ..." 

Calee nodded her head furiously. _Doll. Tell Sky. I have to tell Sky. _She took off, running, crying, and left Logan lying alone in the dusty corner. 


	28. Chapter 28

****

Chapter 28

"I didn't do it Mom, I swear!"

Ko was loading passengers on the buses. Xander continued playing with his yo-yo's. "Xander, stop playing with those things, you're going to poke someone's eye out." 

The yo-yo's continued to zip pass, barely missing the passengers. Finally the inevitable happened: He hit a passenger. Not just any passenger, but the Prime Minister's daughter. "XANDER DOCIALIEXPIESTICFRAGICALIRUPUS, you get out of the loading area NOW. And take those darn yo-yo's with you!!!!"

Xander did not hesitate to leave. When she used his whole name, he knew she meant business. Stuffing one of his yo-yo's into his pocket, he quickly said he was sorry and was Out Of There.

Hey, the barracks were as good as any to practice his moves. While doing a power throw, the string snapped and the yo-yo went hurtling down the hall. It landed and began to roll. "Dumb yo-yo." 

Xander chased after it as the yo-yo made its way into a doorway. He knew that he wasn't supposed to be down this hall, it was off-limits. All the more reason to get the yo-yo before he mom found out where he had gone. He heard the yo-yo come to a stop.

Logan felt a thud on his head, and turned, flinching with a groan. The sharp pain was now in his head too, and he wondered if Marshall had come to finish him off; wishing he would. 

Xander heard the yo-yo stop rolling ... a soft groan sounded from inside the room. Xander squeezed his eyes shut in dismay. So much for no one knowing that he'd been snooping around where he had no business being. Creeping quietly towards the partially closed doorway, Xander poked his head around the corner and peeked into the room. The sight which met his eyes made his stomach heave.

The floor was covered in blood. In the center of the room several bodies lay entwined in pools of their own blood. The form of a man and a young girl caught and held his horrified stare. Their arms were held fast about one another, as if, even in death they were trying to comfort each other. Xander felt as if time had stopped. He couldn't tear his eyes from the grizzly scene before him. Movement. Yes. _Oh my God! _Xander thought, _one of them is still alive!_

Xander must have made some kind of sound, because the man turned his head and stared in the direction of the door. Xander gasped in surprise and made to leave the scene before him as quickly as possible. 

"Wait." 

The word was whispered, barely audible. Xander's panicked run was stopped short by the quiet plea. Gathering up his courage, the 19-year-old slowly entered the room, being careful not to step into the numerous pools of blood.

He quickly scanned the room for whoever was responsible for the massacre. Nope. No one but him and the bodies. What a pleasant thought. 

Kneeling down next to the dying man, Xander anxiously looked him over. His injuries were too bad to allow any hope for recovery. Xander had seen enough Rescue 911 to know that this poor guy wasn't going to make it. Crouching lower, Xander asked the man what had happened and what he could do to help.

Logan lifted his head a little to try and identify the stranger. A teenager ... great. "We were attacked ... I need you to get to the officials. His name is Brent Marshall. Please, he killed my daughter. You have to get him. My name is Logan--" He stopped, having a bout of dizziness. Coughing feebly, he continued, "Please, tell my wife Savannah I'm sorry." He looked at the teenager, his eyes pleading. "Please." Xander nodded, his eyes tearing.

The sound of boot heels on the polished linoleum tiles echoed ever louder in the hall. Ko had been searching for nearly twenty minutes for her wayward son. The sound of coughing in the restricted hallway had gotten her attention. "Darnit if that kid isn't getting himself into trouble every time my back is turned!" Ko muttered angrily to herself as she stormed down the hall. 

Spotting light and the opened doorway, she barged in fuming, "Xander! There you are. You know you're not supposed to be in here! What kind of trouble are you getting into?!" 

Ko's eyes popped open at the sight of the bodies strewn across the floor and her son kneeling in a pool of blood. She grabbed her chest and fell against the doorjamb for support. Her voice quivering, Ko whispered, "What have you done?"

Xander jerked upright and hurriedly stammered, "I didn't do it Mom, I swear!"

Ko ran over beside her son. Lying her fingers on the man's blood-stained neck, she checked for a pulse. A faint flutter met her questing fingers. My God, this man was still alive! "Sir, sir can you hear me?"

Logan nodded weakly. Oh, the pain ... "Yes ... yes. I ... you need ..." His thoughts were fading, swirling between subjects incoherently. He had to ... focus! 

"Concentrate!" called a frantic-yet-stern voice from somewhere in the fog. "You need what?"

Logan swallowed. "CosmAstra, she will tell Sky and Savannah ... there's not much time. The buses will leave ... any minute. Two berths ... go!" Tears filled his eyes once more. "Rayley's berth, my berth ... she won't die for nothing! You ... you take our berths." Logan forced his gritty eyes open and blinked the red haze from them to focus on the woman and child before him long enough to see them glance at each other once, and then nod. Logan smiled. This is what his beautiful daughter would have wanted.

Ko wiped a tear away. There was no way she could save this man. Maybe, if the Rock wasn't coming, he would have a chance. He was right though, the berths could not go to waste and it was too late to find a replacement. She gave the dying man a comforting pat and then turned to her son. She had to be strong, her son needed her. Squaring her shaking shoulders, Ko ignored the misery around her and adopted her best "mom" tone. "Come Xander, we must leave immediately."

"No, I won't let this man die alone."

"Go!" Logan urged, his voice as loud as he could get it. He winced with the fresh pain it brought. "You must ... the buses leave now." He looked down at his daughter. "I won't be alone."

Xander hesitantly got up. "Don't worry, you will not die in vain. I'll make sure that the horrid creature that did this to you pays. You'll be with your daughter soon, everything will be okay." And with that, Xander stuffed his blood soaked yo-yo in his pocket, grabbed his mom's hand, and ran out of the room.

Logan smiled at the retreating pair as his vision began to blur. He looked down at Rayley, and gently closed her eyes. "I always loved you ... so much ..." he whispered. Then, not with Rayley's shudder, but with a sigh, Logan's body relaxed, and laid on the cold floor, his daughter's head resting on his chest.


	29. Chapter 29

****

Chapter 31

"I wanted it to be a dream."

Becca led Jessie back to the bed, but the little girl didn't want to sleep. Her tiredness won over her determination, though, and Jessie fell asleep, leaning on Becca's shoulder. 

Becca smiled down at the little girl. Asleep, Jessie finally had a peaceful look on her face. The thought that soon she'd have to wake the girl made her feel rather guilty. 

Becca woke, startled. She must have dozed off. She looked down. Jessie still slept peacefully. Rubbing her eyes, she gazed towards the window. It was still dark out. She glanced around for whatever had woke her up. It was one of the soldiers. He was making an announcement. Time to go. 

"Jessie," Becca whispered, shaking the girl awake. 

"Mommy?" the girl asked hopefully as she opened her eyes. 

Becca hated to break her heart. But she had to. "No," she said sadly. 

"I guess it wasn't a dream," Jessie said, disappointment and sadness showing on her face. "I wanted it to be a dream." 

"We have to leave soon," Becca said. She pulled on her jeans and T-shirt. She packed her pocket computer and the photo of herself with her parents in her jacket pockets. She emptied her backpack out onto the bunk. Then, she stuffed her sweatshirt and Jessie's, and their coats, into the backpack. It was too hot to put them on now. She'd get them on at the ship. 

Becca took Jessie's hand and led her outside, following the crowd. Busses waited outside. They boarded the closest one. Becca searched for two seats together but could find none. Becca was about to get off the bus to search another bus for two seats together when abruptly, the bus pulled away. She sat down in the nearest seat and Jessie climbed onto her lap. 

"I wonder where the nice girl from last night is," wondered Jessie out loud. 

Becca looked around. "She must be on another bus," she concluded. 

Becca didn't want to say anything to worry Jessie, but she wondered what had happened to the practice run they were supposed to have. She was startled by a popping noise. She recognized it from the movies, but not from real life. 

Gunfire. 

Becca pulled Jessie down and pushed the girl under the seat. She herself crouched down as far as she could. 

"What's happening?" Jessie asked fearfully. "Did the comet come already?" 

"No ... no, it didn't ... it's just..." Thankfully, the bus came to a stop and she didn't have to explain. People rushed to get off, nearly trampling them. 

Becca unzipped her backpack. She took out Jessie's sweatshirt and jacket. "Put these on," she said gently. The girl complied. Becca put on her own, then picked up Jessie and walked out of the bus, the last one to leave. 

Outside, insanity reigned. Rioters were being held back - barely. She was shoved along with the crowd, not even sure she was going the right way. She craned her neck to see above the crowd. And there it was. The Mayflower. She turned back for one last look. There were people behind her, even. But most were ahead, trying to squeeze into the single elevator carrying people up to the ship. 

Becca wondered if everyone would get on in time. She looked up into the sky and she could see the Rock, coming closer, so close, so very, very bright and big and close and ... 

"Get moving!" someone shouted behind her. She stumbled forward into the elevator. Bodies pressed all around her, no, not bodies, people, but she felt crushed, Jessie cried, make this end, make this end. Then the elevator opened, and the people rushed out onto the platform, carrying her along. 

There was a catwalk, a little catwalk, so flimsy, connecting the platform to the ship. People were being sent, one at a time. 

And then it was her turn. Still carrying Jessie, who was now sobbing, she walked across. Just before stepping into the ship, she took one last look. 

And ruining her last view of Earth's sky was the Rock, glowing brightly, coming so much closer with every passing moment. 

Inside the Mayflower, Becca followed the instructions of the NASA techs, made her way to an empty berth. 17. She was in berth 17. She was 17 years old. She wondered if that was lucky. She'd put Jessie next to her, in 16. The girl was still crying, and Becca realized that so was she. 

She set Jessie down in berth 16. "Jessie," she said gently. "You're a big girl. You can do what the voice tells you to, right?" Jessie nodded. "Now lie down in the berth." Jessie complied. 

Becca gave the girl a kiss on the forehead. "Do what the voice says. I'll watch to make sure you do all right before I get into my berth." Jessie gave a small nod. Becca stepped back, and the Plexiglas lid to the berth closed. Becca stood there, watching Jessie, making sure she did it right. She watched until finally, the girl's eyes closed. Jessie had such a peaceful look on her face, as if she were merely sleeping. 

Then she went to her own berth, and, fighting her fear, climbed in. A moment later, Calee arrived and stood next to the berth on the other side of Becca, berth 18. Calee turned to face Becca, pleading, "Becca, I have to find Sky." 

"No time," she found herself replying. "Come on, get in. Don't you freak out on me." Calee climbed into the berth. Becca heard her whisper something indecipherable before the Plexiglas lid closed over her berth. 

No use putting it off any longer, she thought. Becca lay down in the berth. The Plexiglas lid closed over her. She had always been claustrophobic, but that seemed the least of her problems right now. 

"Place the end of the tube in the back of your throat. The coated capsule on the end of the tube will make swallowing painless and easy. Now swallow the capsule and, using your hands, slowly and gently push the tube down until the red band reaches your mouth. Please take care not to vomit." 

She could do that. That wasn't so hard. You can do it, you can do it, she told herself, over and over and over again until finally she got the red band to her mouth. She fought a sudden urge to gag. 

"Now, draw the transparent plastic helmet over your head, taking care not to tangle the breathing tube." 

There. A piece of cake. Then she heard a voice, a human one. 

"Folks, this is Colonel Jasper Willett, the mission commander. You were supposed to get training for all this, folks, dry runs and so on. I know this isn't easy, any of it. But try and follow the computer directions as well as you can. They'll be repeated." 

And they were. Over and over again, in a droning voice. _Well, if the hibernation equipment doesn't put me to sleep, this will_. She was surprised she had a sense of humor left. 

"Okay, folks, we've just got the word to cut short the prep. We got some bad guys outside, getting a little too close for comfort. We're going to go ahead and light the candle. Anyone on board who isn't berthed needs to exit immediately and get into one of the blast-shelters. And I mean right now." The mission commander again. 

__

Not now, she thought, panicked, _not now. Not ready_. Why couldn't it wait until I was unconscious? 

But the rumbling filled her ears. Loud, so loud, they were taking off, they really were. No. Not flying. Hate flying. Want to be unconscious now. 

Afraid. 

Afraid of dying and never knowing. Earth. Good-bye. Let us live. Let us live. 

Earth. Mommy. Daddy. Watch over me, watch over Jessie, watch over us, good-bye Earth, good-bye, good-bye, scared, oh God, so scared..... 

And then she was blessedly unconscious. 


	30. Chapter 30

****

Chapter 29

"But everyone's going to die!"

Calee stumbled through the barracks, her still-wet tears unnoticed on her cheeks. Doll. Get Sky. 

She halted suddenly at Rayley's bunk. There, propped up neatly on her pillow, was the doll. It wasn't one of the speaking, interactive ones, but rather an old-fashioned doll that simply sat there. Calee picked it up gently, cradled it in her arms. 

Tell Sky. 

Then she was off and running again. No one was in the barracks, and she ran outside. 

"You almost missed the bus," scolded a voice. "Get in." Before she could protest, she was pushed onto a bus. Quickly she scanned the faces, looking for Sky, but he wasn't on this one. A grinning face in the very back gestured for her to come over. Mechanically, she obeyed. 

"Why so glum, CosmAstra?" Mo'Steel asked as she sat beside him. "We're taking a ride on a space shuttle! Going into space!" 

"Yeah," Calee muttered, her eyes dull. "Space. What I've always wanted." 

Mo'Steel, like everyone on the bus, fell into silence. As Calee's eyes fell on the shuttle, surrounded by floodlights, her heart stopped. She suddenly forgot everything that had happened, and simply took in the sight of the beautiful spacecraft. 

__

I'm doing it, she thought. _This is it. I'm finally going into space._ It didn't matter that it looked like it would fall apart at any second. It didn't matter that it would carry humanity's last vestiges into some dreamed-up safety. None of that mattered. In Calee's eyes, it was beautiful, and her heart swelled to see it. 

Then everything rushed up to hit her. 

This was it. Everyone in the entire world was going to die. Rayley and Logan had just been murdered by Marshall. Humans, animals, plants, cities, countries, rivers, all were going to be destroyed. Logan had passed Rayley's doll on to her to take care of. And Earth would be dead in a couple hours. 

This can't be happening. It can't. It can't. It can't. 

Everyone got off the bus. Immediately, Calee moved to go find Sky, but a nervous NASA man pushed her into line. She was almost at the back. Calee began to inconspicuously move forward in line. Sky had to be up there.

The Marines around the Eighty all looked to the south, and Calee followed their gaze. Now she noticed the popping sounds. "Gunfire," Mo'Steel's voice came from somewhere behind her. "People shooting down there." _Gunfire doesn't matter_, Calee thought to herself. Have to find Sky. 

She moved forward in line, leaving behind Mo'Steel and the girl he was talking to. 

Suddenly, much closer guns sounded out. Two large vehicles raced towards them through the darkness. 

BamBamBamBam! 

Automatic fire! Instinctively, Calee threw herself to the rough ground. She lifted her head slightly. What was going on?! 

A cry sounded from behind her. Calee turned, saw a man bleeding, his wife wailing. Another dead. 

She turned the other way, saw a boy standing next to her. He was just standing there! As if the gunfire didn't matter! 

"Get down, you idiot!" she shrieked at him, and yanked him down with her. He just stared at her as if he didn't know what was going on. Calee shook her head. So much mayhem. Gotta find Sky. She inched forward on her elbows and knees. It was easier to push past cowering people, because some of them were moving with her. 

She had gotten a little further when one of the big trucks exploded. Soon, the other vehicle had stopped as well, scant feet from the Eighty. Except they weren't the Eighty now, were they? More like the Seventy-seven. Calee almost laughed, but forced herself not to, knowing that if she did, she would never stop. 

There was no Sky in the front of the line. Calee tried to move back to begin her search again, but they had reached the elevator. Everyone was crushed together around it. Quite suddenly, Calee was carried into the elevator. 

Maybe he would be up top. 

The doors opened, people spilling out of the doorway. Somehow, Calee ended up next to the catwalk. Soon, she was prodded to go next. Though it was night, a warm breeze swayed the catwalk, swaying more with every step she took. She was all alone, over a very long drop. Good thing she wasn't afraid of heights. 

Good thing. 

Calee stepped into the hatch on the Mayflower. "Move along," a NASA tech told her. "Climb down." 

Calee obeyed, climbing down the stairway. 

"Crawl across here," another NASA person told her. 

"But--" 

"Don't argue!" he snapped. "Get in!" 

Calee obeyed, crawled to the next empty berth. Number eighteen. Turning, she saw Becca in the berth next to her. 

"Becca," she pleaded. "I have to find Sky!" 

"No time," she informed Calee. "Come on, get in. Don't you freak out on me." 

A tear rolled down her cheek as she climbed into the narrow berth. 

"But Sky ..." she whispered to herself. 

Quite suddenly, the Plexiglas lid closed over her. Surprised, Calee twitched, then banged her fist against the glass. "No!" she cried at it. "I have to tell Sky! Rayley's dead, don't you understand? Let me out!" 

"Please locate the blue tube pinned to the right side of the berth, and pull the end piece towards you," the computer voice responded. 

"But everyone's going to die!" she sobbed, even as she followed her instructions. 

"Place the end of the tube in the back of your throat. The coated capsule on the end of the tube will make swallowing painless and easy. Now swallow the capsule and, using your hands, slowly and gently push the tube down until the red band reaches your mouth. Please take care not to vomit." 

"You would vomit if you had seen a murder," Calee snarled at the machine. She put the tube in her throat, then paused. For some reason, she had always had a problem with swallowed pills. A tube wouldn't be any easier. After maneuvering the capsule so it finally slid down her throat, she began to push the tube down her throat. She had to stop eleven different times before the red band finally reached her mouth. 

"Now, draw the transparent plastic helmet over your head, taking care not to tangle the breathing tube." 

Still fighting her impulse to rip the tube out, she did as she was told. Her green hat kept the plastic helmet from pulling her hair, but it was hard to keep her eyes open. Absurdly, the thought came to her mind that she wanted a cool helmet like astronauts wore. _Stupid_, she scolded herself. _You're so stupid_.

"Folks, this is Colonel Jasper Willett, the mission commander." Calee knew who he was, by name if not personally. When she was ten, she had made it her mission to memorize the names of anyone who was an astronaut. "You were supposed to get training for all this, folks, dry runs and so on. I know this isn't easy, any of it. But try and follow the computer directions as well as you can. They'll be repeated." 

Calee listened as the computer told her what she had done. The repeated words were almost comforting in their familiarity. 

__

I'm sorry, Logan, she suddenly thought. _I only fulfilled half your wish_. Looking down, she clutched the doll closer to her. 

Jasper Willett's voice flooded her berth again. "Okay, folks, we've just got the word to cut short the prep. We got some bad guys outside, getting a little too close for comfort. We're going to go ahead and light the candle. Anyone on board who isn't berthed needs to exit immediately and get into one of the blast-shelters. And I mean right now." 

So many conflicting emotions. Elation at going into space, anger at herself and the Rock, grief over Rayley and Logan and Earth, thoughts of her father ... it was too much. 

A rumbling filled her ears. It was just as how it had always been in her dreams. She sensed, rather than felt, that the liquid oxygen and the rocket fire had ignited. Calee felt pressed into her berth, knew they were lifting off. So many emotions ... she had to choose, and she suddenly allowed elation to take over. Joy flooded her as the g's pushed her down, down, down. 

I'm in space ... 

Rayley and Logan are dead. 

My dad is going to die. 

__

Oh Dad, she thought. _I love you so much. I'm going to miss you. Dad, Dad, Dad... _

She felt herself being drawn under. The hibernation technology was working on her. Soon she would be asleep, and yet not asleep, almost dead ... 

I'm sorry Logan. I'm sorry Rayley. 

I'm so, so sorry, Earth. 

I love you, Daddy. 

Daddy ... 


	31. Chapter 31

****

Chapter 30

"She has a better chance of surviving than most of us down here."

Benjamin Campbell looked at his watch. One hour. One hour until everyone was dead, until cultures were wiped out, until ecosystems were destroyed. One hour until Earth was no more. 

He looked at Ringo. "Let's go for a ride, buddy." 

The cemetery wasn't that far from the house. Ringo sat in the back, sticking his head out of the windows, switching between both of them periodically. 

"You're crazy," Ben teased affectionately. "You know that, right?" 

Ringo didn't answer. 

He pulled up to the cemetery and let Ringo out of the car. There wasn't anyone else around. The cemetery seemed very desolate because of it, as if the dead knew the Rock was coming, as if they had already prepared for it by sending everyone else away. 

He knelt beside one particular headstone. It was smooth marble. Engraved in it were the words: 

Anne Campbell

1965-2000

Beloved Wife and Mother

It was short, simple. There was an oak tree nearby, in full bloom during the summer months. Come fall, colorful leaves would have been scattered on her grave. Anne had always loved the fall leaves. Ringo trotted about the graveyard for a few minutes, but soon flopped down next to Ben. 

"Hey Anne," Ben said. "This is Ringo. Anika's dog. He's nice, Anika seemed happy enough with him. You would have liked him." He looked up at the sky, unsure of why he was telling his dead wife of his daughter's dog.

Looking back down, he said sadly, "The Rock's coming, Anne. But I got a berth for Anika. However unlikely, she has a better chance of surviving than most of us down here." 

Looking once again at his watch, he saw they only had little more than half an hour. Anika would be boarding the Mayflower, would be blasting off at any minute. 

"In a few minutes, she'll be safe," he whispered. "And soon I'm gonna be with you." A tear ran down his cheek, as he reached out and traced the letters on the tombstone. "I tried my best to raise her. I think you'll be proud." Benjamin sighed. "It's going to be hard for her. So, stay with her, okay? And show me how to do the same. We'll be with her." Ringo licked his hand once, and Ben smiled. "Okay, boy. I'll shut up now." 

Benjamin sat, petting Anika's dog, and breathed in deeply, smelling everything around him. 

"Be safe, Anika." 

Then he waited next to his wife for the end. 


	32. Chapter 32

****

Chapter 32

"Bad way to start out the end of the world."

Mark and Quid squashed into the bus station. They were directed to seats, in different busses. "Bad way to start out the end of the world," joked Mark hollowly as he moved toward his bus. 

Quid gave him no more than a nod as she loaded her bus. _The end of the world?_ she wondered as she clambered into the hot smelly vehicle. Mark, this isn't just the end of the world, this is the end of our home! The end of our family, and Kinley (The Ali's golden retriever puppy who now would never grow to a giant bouncing ball of golden fuzz, youth cut short by an unfeeling rock), it's the end of school, and Starbucks, and all the greatest authors of history, of the family Bible--least she'd kept that, a copy was stuffed into one of the dozens of zippered pockets of her vest. She moved a hand there quickly to make sure, yes, there it was.

Never another sunrise over the Grand Canyon, never another kayaking trip through white water. I'll never finish my model of the Constance, or see it's final episode! What happens anyway? She wished that the television station would get the idea that there was an asteroid on the way and finish the Star Trek adventures. 

"I bet they never thought that Earth would end before the Federation got hold. United world? Get real, United rubble, large chunks of dust and dirt can't make much of a world," she bitterly muttered as the engine rumbled to life in the old bus. Quid did her best not to think of the three letters in her left side pocket, the ones from her parents and her only brother Mark. Even though Mark was coming too, they had decided to write one to each other, in case there was ... a problem. They had only said problem, not wanting to think of what might happen in space.

She thought of all the things that had happened to the crews of Enterprise D and Voyager. But this Mayflower didn't even have a warp core, much less millions of tested inventions that it could fall back on. All it had were quack inventions that hadn't been tested ... Solar sails? Get real! Might as well have been Santa sails. By now, she had boarded the bus. She found a seat in the back. There was an empty one beside it. 

"Drat that guard." Quid fumed "If he had sent us to the same bus, we could be together!" She looked up and saw two girls walking down the aisle. One was older, a teen. The other was as young as Sasha, a little girl who would come into Starbucks on hot summer days and order tall frappes. Quid wiped away just forming tears. She waved a hand as she sat in the seat closer to the walkway. 

"There's an extra seat here if you want it." She tried to manage a smile as her mind was busy with other matters. Five-years-old? What is this place coming to?! Then she grimaced bitterly. The Rock, or rather, The Rock is coming to it. They took the seat, the younger one sitting on the other girl's lap. 

After a little innocent conversation she found out that one was named Jessie, she was somewhere between five and six, and Becca, the older girl, looked as though she were out of high school. She began to talk with them as though there were no age difference between Becca or Jessie. She started with animals, but she decided that wouldn't help, she moved on to a safer subject ... toes. 

"Have you ever noticed that toes look funny?" She wiggled her own even though they were in sneakers. They moved from toes to noses to ears, and went along the body until they got to-

Blam-blammity-blam!

Gunfire broadsided the bus. "Get down!" She crouched low in her seat, and helped Becca move Jessie to a safer location. 

The bus screeched to a halt at the liftoff point. People pushed and trampled all that got in their way, Quid was just ahead of Jessie and Becca. She ran ahead and tried to find Mark, he was there, thank God! "Mark! MARK!" 

He whirled, "Quid!" He ran over to her and breathlessly and said, "Come on, we have to go."

"I agree, where's the ship?"

"You blind or something, Trekkite? I thought you would have spotted it a mile away!" He pointed to a looming hulk that had the word MAYFLOWER painted over its hull. If she could have, she would have stopped dead in her tracks. 

"That's it?!" She looked at what seemed like a skyscraper high pile of hollow junk. Someone was playing one large practical joke. "Hah, hah, you had me there for a sec, Mark. Where is it, really?" 

"No hoax, that's it, Quid. Let's go!" He dragged her along until they reached it. In the background of gunfire and shrieks, she heard a bullet hit home, a dull thud, and a woman screaming about her husband. She blotted out the memory, No, it's a joke, this can't be happening! She thought of the newscast, the girl dead, the hundreds of people because of a pebble. No! 

They were the last ones to cross the catwalk, the last family boarded, then it was their turn. Quid gave Mark a brave smile, they had grown up on the Grand Canyon's rim, height was a fact of life. Quid crossed first then she heard it, the warning. She caught only a few last words: "Anyone on board who isn't berthed needs to exit immediately and get into one of the blast-shelters. And I mean right now!" 

Only one catwalk separated Mark from her, and she wouldn't let it take her. "Hurry! Come on!" the guard who stood by shook his head and the catwalk crumpled as the door closed. 

"NO!"

The guard forced her into a berth near the door. "I'm sorry, there was nothing we could do."

Nothing! The words ripped at her. The computerized voice erupted as the Plexiglas lid zipped shut. Tears rolled down her cheeks, as it was talking about capsules. Capsules?! Mark is going to die with everyone else and your talking about capsules?! Sobbing, she followed the directions, when she had choked down the tube she pulled on the helmet, there was an empty pit in the bottom of her stomach. This can't be! It's a joke... a joke. Her mind droned off as she dropped into blissful unconsciousness. 


	33. Chapter 33

****

Chapter 33

"Remember the good times."

After walking that final mile on her beloved planet, Madison took her place in berth 11. She wished desperately to say goodbye to Ruby, but that would be impossible now. Instead, sitting up in her berth, she turned her head to Mark.

"We made it, Mark. We've made it so far, maybe we can make it just a little further."

"If we don't though, I want you to know that I didn't mean what I said in the barracks. I don't regret my life, because I lived it to the fullest. I can die a happy man because of all of the joy that I received having you in my life."

"My life would have been lonely and miserable without you. Mark, if I don't make it, I want you to get on with your life. Don't cry over me."

"Same here. Remember the good times. Good night Madison."

"Good night Mark."

Madison lay down in her berth and watched the Plexiglas close over her. She couldn't get comfortable because of all of the stuff in her suit. She managed to smuggle all of her supplies under her civilian clothes, which she tucked into her aluminum suit to keep everything from falling out. 

Madison was half amazed that no one noticed her odd looking figure. In each leg she had 15.2 feet of heavy duty rope (courtesy of Wal-Mart) and a bag of water. Under her shirt she had a role of duct tape, a candle, and one MRE. She filled her pockets with pens, thread, needles, and granola bars. Within her left arm, Madison hid her Swiss army knife and a candle. There was bag of rubber bands, a bag of matchbooks in the other arm. Her precious books with paper were strapped on her back. Madison hid an pocket-sized emergency blanket in each boot. Finally, her bag that she originally held the supplies in was stuffed under her hood. 

As Madison patted her body to make sure everything was still there, she thought about that lady with the clipboard from the barracks. "Folks, if it won't fit in a pocket, it ain't going. Put it in the trash barrel. Don't worry, the Lord will provide, the Lord will provide. We'll have all we need in the Kingdom." That lady was crazy! Throw away all of her supplies? Yeah right, that wasn't happening. Her and that lady were going to different kingdoms. The Lord may provide in the kingdom that lady was headed to, but the only thing He was providing in Madison's kingdom was a big rock hurled towards Earth. Madison decided that she would have to go with Darwin on this one: Survival of the fittest.

Madison saw all of the speakers in the berth. Good thing she kept her aluminum hood on, that should deflect most of the signals that might come out of the speakers. She heard the instructions to, for lack of better words, jam a tube down her throat. Great, this tube shouldn't produce any government signals. They must have thought that the subliminal messages on signals released in the barracks were good enough to program passengers to establish a new government similar to the old one. 

Just as Madison was beginning to relax a bit, the instructions ordered her to place a helmet on her head. No way! Uh, uh, nope, she was NOT going to stick her head in a government or NASA helmet with wires and tubes sticking out of it. She skipped that step, praying that no one would notice. 

Madison felt the Mayflower take off. Her body felt so heavy. Still, she just lay there and feigned sleep. At last, the pressure lifted from her body. 

Moments later, she heard a muffled explosion. Gunshots! Someone must have stumbled across the government's evil plot and attempted to escape. Another gunshot! Madison remained motionless and prayed that They would not discover she knew their plans. Several minutes later, Madison felt pressure again, but only for a couple minutes. There was a last gunshot, and then silence. 

Madison managed to raise her head enough to look at her watch. It had been two hours since the final gun shots. Shouldn't she be asleep by now? She found the emergency button to open the berth. Immediately, she felt herself rise. She quickly took the tube out of her throat before she choked.

Madison could barely breathe; there was a little air, but not much. She felt like she was on top of Mt. Everest. She scanned the area and saw something orange ahead of her. She pushed herself away from the berth and floated in the air. Madison knew she would be flying through the air had there been more oxygen. As she got closer, she noticed that there were a few suits, but a couple were defective. She quickly managed to get herself into the undamaged one. Air! At last she enough air to breath comfortably. 

Madison saw another suit float by her. She shrieked in horror as the man looked at her through cold eyes. His helmet was shattered with blood still emerging from the crack. Madison pushed the body away from her, causing her to move backwards. She hit something soft and managed to turn around. All of the air left her lungs; facing her was a dead corpse. How many people did They kill?!? She immediately thought of all of her friends and searched to find them before making her way to the cockpit.

The dead captain floated past her. She felt a panic attack coming on. Were They still here? Madison closed her eyes and concentrated. She could not let another panic attack come on, the government was dead like the rest of the world. That thought calmed her more than anything else. Madison looked out the pilot's window. She was at a loss for words. Nothing could describe the awesome sight of Saturn. This was her favorite planet, with it's magnificent rings. Oh, how she wanted to share this experience! But there wasn't anyone to share it with. Of all of the people to have ever existed, only she was conscious. She had never felt so alone. What a wonderful feeling! No government and no one to protect. She was free! For the first time in her life she felt so free.

Madison took out her journal to make one last entry beneath Saturn's awesome sight.

__

Today ends the first part of my life. Earth exists no more. The government was destroyed along with it. For the first time in my life, I am truly free. I fear for my friends. I do not know where Logan or his daughter is. Within their berths are two other people: a young boy and perhaps his mother. The rest of Logan's family appears in good condition, as do Ruby and Mark. I regret to come to the conclusion that I must place the helmet in the berth on my head. That is apparently the hibernation part. By doing so, I will expose myself to the government signals. Should I read this after I wake up, I will hopefully remember how horrible the government was and will not take part in its evil conspiracy. However, I must expose myself to this atrocity in order to warn the others of the government's lingering presence. So now I say goodbye to the life I always knew. 

Madison decided it was time to go back to the berth. She hadn't gone to the bathroom since they left, and now was definitely not a good time to go. She had to get into hibernation mode before she had to find some make-shift toilet. She wondered, _do people in hibernation go to the bathroom? _

Oh well, no time to think about that now, she'd find out soon enough. As Madison began stepping into the berth, she noticed that some of the berth's wires were loose. At close inspection, they looked like they were out almost all the way. She must have inadvertently knocked them out when looking for a suit. Madison pushed the wires back in place so they had a snug fit once again. 

At last, she laid down flat in the berth as the Plexiglas closed over her head. She swallowed that awful pill and once again jammed that tube down her throat. After a moment's hesitation, Madison placed the helmet on her head. 

She heard the heart monitor beeping. The gentle thumping lulled her into the longest nap of her life. 


End file.
